A sheriff’s deputy who was videotaped shooting an unarmed Iraq War veteran after a car chase will be charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter, authorities said Tuesday.
The decision to charge Deputy Ivory J. Webb, 45, was announced by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos.
Sheriff Gary Penrod said Webb will remain on paid administrative leave during the investigation into the shooting of Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion, 21.
It is the first time the county’s prosecutors have filed charges against a lawman for an on-duty shooting.
“I respect the decision of the district attorney’s office,” Penrod said.
Carrion, an Air Force security officer just back from Iraq, was a passenger in a Corvette that police chased at high speed on the night of Jan. 29 until the Corvette crashed into a wall in Chino, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles.
A grainy videotape shot by a bystander showed Carrion on the ground next to the car with Webb standing and pointing at gun at him.
A voice appears to order Carrion to rise, but when the airman appears to begin complying, the deputy shoots him three times.
Carrion was shot in the chest, shoulder and thigh and was hospitalized for several days.
Authorities found no weapons on Carrion or the driver.
The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations. The sheriff’s department conducted its own probe and gave the results to the district attorney’s office.
At the time, the sheriff said the videotape “arouses a lot of suspicion,” but he pointed out that it is fuzzy and contains gaps.
Ramos assigned two top attorneys to review the shooting and requested an FBI enhancement of the videotape.