Based on preliminary information, police said the Nissan involved was likely the same car that several people had reported to the California Highway Patrol starting around 6:30 a.m., before the shooting shut down all westbound lanes of I-80 for most of the day.
“Callers reported the vehicle was driving recklessly, at high speeds, cutting in and out of traffic, and was involved in several collisions,” police said. “At one point, callers reported the vehicle’s hood had flown up, obstructing the windshield, yet the vehicle continued to travel.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will investigate the shooting in accordance with a state law requiring the Department of Justice to investigate any police shooting that results in the death of an unarmed person. Although police said the man was holding a metal object and that there were unconfirmed reports of him swinging it at passing vehicles before the detective arrived, they added that it was not clear whether he was armed at the exact time of the shooting.
The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office and CHP are also participating in that investigation.
“Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Because detectives typically wear business attire, the detective in question was not in uniform or wearing a body camera.
