Video Released Of Police Incident That Left Suspect, Service Dog Dead

SAN DIEGO, CA — Authorities Thursday released video footage of a confrontation between San Diego Police Department officers and an armed man in Clairemont Mesa -- a brief standoff that ended when a patrolman opened fire on the suspect, who then fatally shot an SDPD service dog before dying.

The events that led to the deadly law enforcement encounter began shortly before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 2, when a 911 caller reported being shot at by a passenger in a white Tesla sedan in the 3500 block of Ben Street, just west of the junction of Interstate 805 and state Route 163, according to police.

The victim told a dispatcher the Tesla had been tailing his vehicle before it passed him and pulled to a stop, at which point a man -- later identified as 33-year-old Benjamin Pickens -- got out and opened fire on him with a pistol.

The victim was unharmed, though the shooting left bullet holes in the windshield and rear window of his car.

A dashcam in a vehicle parked on the residential street captured images of the shooter getting out of a passenger-side door and firing five shots as the victim hit the gas, fleeing for his life. The shooter then got back into the Tesla, which backed away down the street.

During his emergency call to police, the victim provided the license-plate number of the Tesla, and officers were able to use a GPS signal to trace its location to an alley off the 7400 block of Armstrong Place, just east of San Diego Mesa College.

Searching the area, officers found the sedan with Pickens behind the wheel, alone inside and holding a handgun, according to police. When they tried to pull him over, the suspect sped off, and the officers soon lost sight of the car.

A short time later, however, police again located the Tesla, this time in the 7200 block of Mesa College Circle. There, it had gotten into a solo crash and was unoccupied, its emergency lights flashing and its driver's door open.

A short time later, officers spotted Pickens on foot nearby, talking on a cellphone with a pistol tucked in his left armpit. As they watched, taking cover behind their parked cruisers with their guns drawn, the suspect repeatedly grabbed his pistol with his right hand while leaving it underneath his other arm.

Pickens ignored officers' orders to disarm himself and surrender, and soon began walking off, heading toward a nearby empty lot.

At that point, as officers' uniform-worn cameras recorded the scene, a canine-handler officer released his service dog, a Belgian Malinois named Sir, who ran toward the suspect.

Pickens responded by turning, drawing his gun and pointing it in the direction of police. At that point, SDPD Officer Addam Ansari opened fire with his service rifle, wounding the suspect in the chest.

A moment later, a second gunshot sounded, followed by Sir's anguished yelps.

Officers then sent in another service dog to move the fatally wounded suspect away from his gun, which remained within his reach. Sir's handler, meanwhile, provided first-aid to the 4 1/2-year-old dog and rushed him to an animal hospital, where veterinarians tried in vain to save him.

Paramedics took Pickens to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ansari has been employed by the SDPD for 11 years. He is assigned to the agency's Western Division.

Sir had served the department since March of last year.