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Man Shot By San Diego Police Officers On Saturday Dies

Protesters gathered on Sunday afternoon in the area of Sixth Avenue and A Street following an officer-involved shooting in the area on Saturday night. The shooting victim, 25-year-old Leonardo Hurtado Ibarra who was wanted for robbery, was in a local hospital Sunday afternoon with life-threatening injuries.
Matthew Bowler
Protesters gathered on Sunday afternoon in the area of Sixth Avenue and A Street following an officer-involved shooting in the area on Saturday night. The shooting victim, 25-year-old Leonardo Hurtado Ibarra who was wanted for robbery, was in a local hospital Sunday afternoon with life-threatening injuries.

The man shot by San Diego Police officers after a confrontation in downtown San Diego on Saturday has died.

Leonardo Hurtado Ibarra, 25, of San Diego had been in intensive care since being shot by two officers just before 6 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Sixth Avenue and B Street. He was pronounced dead on Monday night, according to a statement from the San Diego Police Department.

The statement also named the two officers who shot Ibarra: Jonathon Lucas and Tevar Zaki, both of whom are assigned to the Central Division and have been police officers for four years. The officers have been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation of the shooting by the homicide department, which is standard procedure.

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Neither officers have been involved in other shootings, according to records released by the San Diego Police Department under state law SB 1421. However, the department has yet to release all of its shooting records.

Protests over the weekend followed the shooting of Ibarra on Saturday night. Activists demanded the release of body camera footage, and within 24 hours the San Diego Police Department published the footage on YouTube.

The officers recognized Ibarra from a recent wanted flier on a robbery because of distinctive tattoos on his face, according to a statement from the police department. When they attempted to contact him, he drew a firearm and pointed it at one of the officers, prompting them to fire their weapons, the news release said.

When the homicide unit completes their investigation, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any criminal liability for their actions, the SDPD news release said.

The news release went on to say that reviews will also be conducted by the department’s internal affairs unit, its shooting review board and the city’s Community Review Board on Police Practices. The FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office will also be monitoring the investigation, the news release said.

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