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San Diego police officer charged with pulling gun in alleged road rage

The San Diego Police Department headquarters is shown in this updated photo.
Milan Kovacevic

A San Diego police officer has pleaded not guilty to pulling a gun on a woman during an alleged off-duty road rage incident earlier this year.

William Carter Torres, 30, denied the misdemeanor charge of exhibiting a gun in a threatening manner, the Union-Tribune reported Monday. He's due back in court Nov. 10.

Carter Torres, who has been with the San Diego Police Department for four years, was arrested and suspended after the March 4 incident. He now is assigned to administrative duties, the newspaper said.

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On the day of the incident, police said a woman reported that another driver had displayed a gun in a threatening manner. The woman gave police the driver’s license plate information, leading officers to Carter Torres.

Police said they determined Carter Torres had been driving his personal vehicle but provided few other details about the incident.

An attorney representing Carter Torres said it was the other driver who engaged in “serious” road rage. Attorney Gerald Smith told the Union-Tribune that his client had just gotten measured for a work uniform and was driving home when a vehicle “came up” from behind. The driver then started honking and driving erratically, Smith said, adding that the driver could have gone around Carter Torres but did not.

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