Officer must shoot man in defense
A police officer shot a man after he threatened him with a large hunting knife in front of a fast-food restaurant, police reported.
The man from El Cajon was running after a pedestrian while armed with a knife by a Jack in the Box located on North Second Street at Madison Avenue when El Cajon police Officer Nick Sprecco came to the location around 10:40 a.m. Friday. The man started to come after Sprecco, reported El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit. Sprecco took steps backward and demanded that the man put the knife down multiple times, but he denied his request, Coit stated.
The officer “was continually backing up, telling him to drop the knife. The guy keeps advancing on the officer and he finally fires several rounds, striking the suspect multiple times,” Coit reported.
Officials think that Sprecco shot the gun a minimum of five times, Coit stated. The man was struck in his chest and leg.
Sprecco and other officers started to give the man medical aid in the mean time before the paramedics came to transport the man to a hospital.
Coit reported that he believed the tests would show if the man was drunk or had taken drugs. Officials are also looking into the case to find out if the man attacked any other civilians other that the pedestrian, Coit added.
Sprecco, a motorcycle officer, is the son of El Cajon Police Chief Pat Sprecco, reported Monica Zech, a spokeswoman for the city of El Cajon. He has worked as an officer for nine years.