A National City police officer, Detective Rowdy Pauu, has filed a lawsuit against San Diego County and two of its sheriff’s deputies, accusing them of using excessive force that resulted in him being shot in the leg. The incident occurred on February 16, 2022, when the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Task Force, which Pauu was a part of, cornered a car theft suspect in a cul-de-sac in El Cajon.
According to the lawsuit filed in San Diego federal court on Wednesday, Pauu, clad in plain clothes and operating an unmarked vehicle, was among the task force members that surrounded the suspect. Two sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene and fired their guns multiple times after the suspect stepped out of his vehicle wielding a knife. Pauu, who was positioned behind the suspect, was hit in the leg by the gunfire.
The lawsuit claims that the deputies initiated gunfire without giving any warning. It also argues that the suspect, who was reportedly in the process of getting down, posed no immediate threat to the deputies or anyone else present at the scene. The suspect, who was also hit by the gunfire, was taken to the hospital for treatment.
