The Coronado police officer who shot former Chargers linebacker Steve Foley testified yesterday that several factors led him to believe – wrongly – that the athlete had a weapon.
Officer Aaron Mansker, who was off duty when he tracked Foley from San Diego to Poway, said the football player ignored numerous commands to stop or pull his car to the curb the morning of Sept. 3, 2006. In their first exchange, Mansker said, Foley looked around inside his car as if he had a weapon or contraband.
During a final confrontation in a cul-de-sac near Foley's home, Mansker fired a warning shot into a nearby berm. But Foley, now on foot, was undeterred, the officer testified in the ongoing civil case.
“A reasonable and prudent person would have backed off,” Mansker said, adding that he felt threatened.
Mansker said Foley approached him at the top of Travertine Court and reached for his waistband. The officer fired, hitting Foley in the back of the left knee and hip.
“There was no doubt when that hand was going to his waistband that he had a gun,” Mansker said. “I believed he was going to pull a gun to use it.”
Foley was unarmed and his injuries ended his career as a professional athlete. He is suing Mansker and the city of Coronado in San Diego Superior Court for unspecified damages, contending that the officer repeatedly violated police procedures during the incident.
According to the testimony, Mansker – then a 23-year-old rookie officer – had just gotten off work and was on his way home when he saw a vehicle swerving on state Route 163 near downtown San Diego. He suspected the driver, later identified as Foley, of drunken driving and decided to follow him.
Mansker was in his own black Mazda and wearing civilian clothes at the time. He radioed for uniformed officers to respond but was initially told they were too far away.
He testified that he made contact with Foley after seeing sparks coming from underneath the athlete's 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Mansker said he repeatedly identified himself as a police officer to Foley and Foley's female companion but did not show his badge.
Under questioning by Norman Watkins, an attorney representing the officer and Coronado, Mansker said he never advanced toward Foley during the incident.
Mansker said he decided to follow Foley rather than ignore him because Foley's driving posed “a danger to the people in the vehicle and anyone else out there.”
Dana Littlefield: (619) 542-4590; dana.littlefield@uniontrib.com
