PUNISH COPS, CHIEF URGED

Most Black Leaders Reject DA'S Findings On DuBose Killing

African-American leaders demanded yesterday that San Diego Police Chief
Dave Bejarano punish the two officers who fatally shot former professional
football player Demetrius DuBose, and they angrily dismissed the district
attorney's finding that the shooting was justified.

"The Urban League joins the rest of the African-American community in
denouncing the legal lynching of another African-American citizen," said
John W. Johnson, president of the Urban League. "When will the killings of
our black sisters and brothers cease?"

While most black leaders assailed police and District Attorney Paul
Pfingst, San Diego City Councilman George Stevens, who is African-American,
said yesterday that he agreed with the district attorney that police were
right in shooting DuBose, who was preparing to attack them with their own
martial arts weapons during a July 24 confrontation in Mission Beach.

Stevens said he does not believe that race was a factor in the incident,
but he questioned the level of force used by the officers, who shot DuBose
12 times, including five times in the back.

"I do not feel it was necessary for the officers to continue to shoot him
once he fell to the ground . . . ," Stevens said. "In this case, DuBose was
immobilized and they continued shooting."

Bejarano said yesterday that the number of shots fired was not excessive.

"Training teaches that you shoot to stop the threat," he said. "The
shooting occurred within two to 21/2 seconds; that's the time they had to
make the determination. I support the findings of the district attorney
that the officers acted correctly."

Pfingst yesterday defended his decision, announced Monday.

"We stand by our investigation, supported by the facts and the eyewitness
accounts," he said.

The shooting of DuBose, 28, a former Notre Dame football star who was
drafted in 1993 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played four seasons,
immediately sparked allegations of racism and led to a series of protests.
Another march is scheduled for Friday.

Police and most witnesses said DuBose was shot after he resisted arrest,
wrestled with officers, grabbed their nunchakus and lunged at them. DuBose
had cocaine, the drug ecstasy and alcohol in his system when he died,
according to a toxicology report.

Stevens, saying race did not play a part in the shooting, was a lone voice
among African-American leaders.

"There's not one piece of evidence that these officers shot Mr. DuBose
because he's black," Stevens said. "This man whipped the officers. How can
you put it into a racial context? He just whipped them. You've got to
cooperate with police. If there's an outcry, let it be about the procedure,
not about race."

Stevens said DuBose's behavior led to the fatal confrontation.

"You cannot reject the police when they question you . . . ," Stevens said.
"You just don't say, 'Go to hell; I don't want to answer.'

"You have to obey the law."

Other African-American leaders vehemently disagreed.

"I think it's the duty of the police involved in the investigation not to
allow a scenario to develop that results in the shooting of an unarmed,
innocent man," said H.J. Sims, president of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar
Association. "It was the way they conducted that investigation that allowed
it to escalate out of control."

Attending a news conference with Sims were representatives of the Urban
League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the
Black Contractors Association, the Coalition of African- American
Organizations, the San Diego Youth and Adult Coalition and the Association
of African-American Psychologists.

African-American leaders initially had questioned why DuBose was shot in
the back. Stevens, who conducted his own investigation, offered an
explanation: He was first shot in the chest, and this caused him to fall to
his knees and then double over, exposing his back to the other bullets.
Police said this scenario is possible.

Black leaders did not mention this issue yesterday, instead focusing on the
events that led to the shooting.

Several of the activists said Officers Timothy Keating and Robert Wills,
who are white, allowed racial stereotypes to influence their actions,
particularly when they made judgments that a calm DuBose was dangerous and
on PCP. The officers came to that conclusion simply because of DuBose's
color, the leaders said.

The leaders also questioned why the officers insisted on handcuffing
DuBose, who walked and then ran from the officers to avoid being
restrained. The officers were called to investigate a burglary in progress.
The call was made by DuBose's neighbor, who had found DuBose asleep in his
upstairs bedroom.

DuBose's roommate was trying to smooth things over with the neighbor when
police arrived.

"It should not have escalated from that point to where he was killed," said
Randa Trapp, president of the San Diego chapter of the NAACP.

Sims called on Bejarano to fire the officers, saying, "If they lose their
job, that may create an atmosphere in the Police Department that will make
them understand we will not be stereotyping people in ethnic communities."

Johnson, of the Urban League, stopped short of calling for firings but said
the chief must be held accountable.

"Chief David Bejarano didn't do the shooting but is responsible for their
conduct in the field," he said. "He must provide assurances that some type
of consequences ensues for these men."

Several criticized the district attorney for repeatedly declining to
prosecute police.

"The DA, in justifying all of these killings, is in effect giving license
to kill," said Carrol Waymon, president of the Association of
African-American Psychologists.

Abdur-Rahim Hameed, president of the Black Contractors Association, said
African-Americans expect confrontation when approached by police.

"How can African-Americans trust justice in the city of San Diego when
being black is a police policy to shoot first and justify later?" Hameed said.

"We would think that African-Americans would be better off shooting it out
than being shot down in cold blood, letting the jury decide if a citizen
was acting in self-defense."

To allow the community to discuss the case, Bejarano plans an open meeting
from 6 to 8 p.m. today at O'Farrell Community School at 6130 Skyline Drive
in South Encanto.

Bejarano said he expects to receive recommendations within two months from
police Internal Affairs investigators, who will determine whether the
shooting fell within department policy; and from the internal shooting
review board.

"We are going to take a look at what, if anything, can we do differently,
whether it's policy or training or tactics or the hiring and selection
process," the chief said.

Two years ago, Pfingst cleared Keating of wrongdoing in another case in
which he fatally shot a drunken man who rushed at him waving four knives,
said Gayle Falkenthal, a spokeswoman for the district attorney.

Bejarano has said the department pays close attention to officers who have
multiple complaints or shootings in their record, though he did not make
specific comments about Keating.

The Coalition of African-American Organizations has obtained permits to
march down Broadway in what sponsors are billing as a "peaceful protest."
The march is set for 1 p.m. in front of police headquarters. It will end in
front of the downtown courthouse.