SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan has decided not to charge Officer Daniel Gold in the shooting death of 16-year-old Konoa Wilson at the Santa Fe Depot.
The decision closes a case that resulted in a $30 million settlement between the city of San Diego and the Wilson family — the largest of any police killing in U.S. history.
Wilson was shot twice in the back by Gold in late January last year. Surveillance cameras captured Wilson sprinting away after shots were fired at him by another person. Wilson turned a corner where Gold was waiting and was shot within seconds. He died at the hospital.
Stephan released a 14-page report detailing her findings after a review of the case. The report says Gold and another officer, referred to as LE1, responded separately to the area after reports of an assault. As LE1 and an Amtrak police officer discussed the call, they heard gunshots — which we now know, based on surveillance footage, were aimed at Wilson by another person.
After those initial shots rang out, LE1 broadcast "I've got shots fired. Again, shots fired" over his radio. The report says that word choice is key, noting LE1 acknowledged the phrase "shots fired" might lead other officers to believe he was involved in a shooting, rather than using police code 11-6, which is more commonly used when shots are heard in the area.
In his statement, Gold said he believed LE1 had been injured, shot, or ambushed, and Gold believed there was a need to preserve LE1's life.
A use of force expert cited in the report said, although Gold's response did not follow traditional training protocol or have the desired outcome, his actions may be viewed as reasonable by peers faced with the same set of circumstances.
Stephan relied on that reasoning in her decision not to file criminal charges.
Nick Rowley, the attorney representing the Wilson family, pushed back sharply on that conclusion.
"Their reasoning is bullsh*t," he said. "This was negligent discharge of a firearm. You've got to know what you're shooting at."
Rowley said the $30 million settlement does not deliver the accountability the family sought.
"That's separate. The criminal liability here, the criminal liability, which there is none, that would have held the cop responsible, and that would have ensured that he never does anything like this again, and it would have set an example for other police officers," Rowley said.
Rowley said the DA's decision raises a broader concern about what it signals going forward.
"If there's no consequence when you kill a 16-year-old by shooting him in the back to the individual, then what's going to prevent that individual or others like that person from doing it again?" Rowley said.
Rowley said he was not surprised by the outcome.
"Very disappointed, but not surprised."
The DA's decision cannot be appealed by the family, bringing the criminal case to a close.
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