S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On this episode of KPBS Midday Edition , San Diego agreed to pay $30 million to the family of 16 year old Kanoa Wilson after he was fatally shot by a police officer , but the officer won't face criminal charges. The details of that decision. KPBS Midday Edition is connecting our communities through conversation. When 16 year old Kanoa Wilson heard gunshots ring out in Santa Fe Depot , he started running for his life. That's when he nearly collided with San Diego police officer Daniel Gold , who was responding to an unrelated report of assault in the area. Officer gold says he believed Kanoa was the shooter. Body camera footage shows gold immediately firing at Kanoa at close range , killing him. Kono was family filed a wrongful death lawsuit that resulted in the city settling for $30 million in December of last year , the highest public amount paid to a family after a police killing. The district attorney's office has since weighed whether to charge officer gold in this case , and earlier this month they announced that no criminal charges will be filed. But some community members are really questioning that decision. I'm joined now by Tasha Williamson. She is a community advocate who fought for police reform and accountability. Tasha , welcome to the show.
S2: Thank you. Thank you so much.
S1: Thanks for being here. So listen , in a 14 page letter , the district attorney's office said there is not a criminal charge provable beyond a reasonable doubt. What's your initial reaction to this decision not to charge Officer Gold in this case?
S2: Um , first and foremost , I believe that the D.A. is biased. Um , she pulls a law enforcement retired , and officers who leave the force. Her pool of investigators come from law enforcement. So I just want to say , one , the the biases that stand there and her DA's work very closely with law enforcement in criminal cases. And so that bias stands when you look at the totality , which is what they're supposed to look at , the totality of the circumstances , um , it is clear that she could have gone to the grand jury and asked the grand , given the grand jury the evidence , to let them decide if there was enough evidence to charge or not charge. She could have gone to trial like she did in the bills case where Officer Aaron , a sheriff deputy , Aaron Russell , shot , um , Mr. Beals in the back running away , and he was subsequently tried. Um , he got a 12 month sentence. Uh , she did not do that here. And for me , I feel that , um , at the time of the shooting , the officer did not know whether Kanoa had a gun. Kanoa was not aggressively attacking the officer or anyone else. He was running away , and he was shot in his back. For her to say that there is not enough evidence in using the , um , standard of beyond a reasonable doubt , um , is a farce.
S1: And you bring up that Bill's case because you feel like the evidence in both of those cases is similar.
S2: Very similar to he was shot in his back while he was running away. Kanoa was shot in his back while he was running away.
S1: Um , you know , I actually spoke with District Attorney Summer Stephan back in December 2025 , right after the city's settlement had been announced. I asked her about where they were in the process of determining whether to actually file charges. Here's what she said back then.
S3: So we have a specialized unit , that special operations unit , that that's their their experience. And they work on these very difficult cases. The decision they have to make is not whether something went wrong , but whether it rises to a crime that this was a murder by the officer , a criminal event , and that is a different standard than the civil standard. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. In a statement released just recently , the DA's office says quote , we encourage anyone with questions to read the detailed analysis , which is a 14 page letter , and not rely on opinions that are not grounded in the complete analysis of the facts and the law. End quote is what they what their response has been so far. Um , according to the DEA , they they asked. California Attorney General Rob Bonta to take up this case. And they say that the that his office declined. Both times. What is your response to that?
S2: My response is that a black kid was carrying a gun that no officer saw until they cut it out of his waistband. Um , and because of that , the district attorney and the attorney general , um , narrowed in on Kanoa Wilson carrying a gun and not the intent of the law. AB 392 , SB 16. Um , those laws are very intentional. Use of force procedures are very intentional. And none of them say within a split second of someone not having a weapon brandished , not being aggressive towards the officer. You shoot them twice in the back. None of them say that. So when they use these , um , circumstances and their reports that they use , um , I believe that the greater public wants to believe in the justice system. I want to believe in the justice system. But they dress in fancy suits and nice dresses with heels , and they look shiny like a diamond , but they're cold because they have misguided the public to understand something that is not the intent of the law , to understand that they're the professionals and they know what they're doing. But yet they did not depend on the jury. They always depend on that is a court process. Jurors make the decision , not the DA's. The DA's provide the evidence. And in this case , with a black 16 year old child , they didn't allow it. Had that child been white , had that been a white grandmother , gold would be charged.
S1: You say that the DA's provide the evidence , and I want to dig into that evidence a little bit more. When shootings like this happen , who initiates the investigation? Who collects evidence?
S2: So in in all the circumstances , with the transparency laws that came out , the local police have made a decision that they're going to switch over to either sheriff's or Chula Vista , who will usually it's the sheriff's with SD PD that investigates. But SD PD says they investigate two. So there's two local law enforcement investigations apparently going on. But the Da has the right to investigate. With her special operations unit. The Attorney General must investigate according to law and has chosen not to. Why? Because are we coming up to November where people are going to be elected? I mean , we look at those things. Those things change how people do things with law enforcement when they're coming up on elections , when they have these biases , when they're not themselves following the intent of the law.
S1: What are your thoughts on that? On , on , on these these agencies who do work together investigating each other?
S2: I think it should be an independent investigation. I do not believe I've done complaints for to the to the district attorney's office , attorney general's office , to sheriffs , SD , PD to decertification , post decertification. So I have hundreds of complaints out there , and I have seen law enforcement use corruption in deciding which officer they're going to shield and which officer they're not. Don't forget , Chief Wall went on a media tour to say that Daniel Gold was a good kid. Daniel Gold is a man. He killed a kid.
S1: Also , to give some some context here , according to the San Diego Union Tribune , SPD's internal affairs unit says they'll launch their own investigation into Officer Gold. And if his actions were within police department policy and procedure. So evidently that's something that DPD is looking into. The DA's office said that Officer Gold's split second decision to use deadly force was influenced by multiple , unexpected and rapidly developing factors. End quote. That's what they said. How are officers typically trained to respond in these scenarios?
S2: Well , I want to also say that they put out a call of shots fired. They did not put out a call of 1199 where usually when shootings are happening between law enforcement and civilians , they put out a call of 1199 , I need help. Come now. They did not put out an 116 of firearm discharge. He just said shots fired. Training says what they're supposed to call out on there. They have radio call codes that they're supposed to call out. And I'm sorry , chief wall keeps saying more training , more training. His officers are not retaining training. They're also not retaining the intent of the law because they are in violation of it over and over and over again. And so for me , I just feel like the trust is broken. It is absolutely broken. And what this says from the DA's office is that it's okay to shoot a kid running away in the back twice. That is black.
S1: What have you heard from other community members about their reactions to this case. Have you heard or spoken to people whose family even.
S2: I have not talked to Noah's family. But I do know that Noah's family , you know , we met Noah's family and I know that they're grieving people. What I'm finding is when people are given large sums of money in a jury award or a settlement agreement , that somehow the Da thinks , or I don't even want to say she thinks. But the the prosecutor's offices act as if , from a community standpoint , what we view that that was enough so we don't need to charge. And we're saying that's not that doesn't bring Noah back. That doesn't stop their grieving , that they would give that money back for Noah. He committed a crime. Charge him.
S1: You've been involved in fighting for justice for Noah Wilson's family since the day it happened. Um , you know , and from where you sit , you are you point out some barriers to accountability here. What are you specifically advocating for in the place of these systems and barriers that are in the way? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Independent investigations , independent of the city , independent of the police , independent of the prosecutors. Prosecutorial agencies. Independent not involved. Not a friend. Not not not a relative , an independent body , because they have shown us time and time again that they cannot do it themselves. They cannot.
S1: And let me ask you this , because there was there was wording changed , um , a few years back to where officers had to be. Um , and it had to be necessary for officers to use lethal force. Correct? Correct. Well , how did that word. Hasn't.
S2: Hasn't.
S1: Been applied?
S2: Well , it wasn't applied here because it wasn't necessary. It wasn't necessary. So it wasn't applied. That's why I'm saying when she's putting out this 14 page document and she's like , we're the experts , you cannot show me where it was necessary for Daniel. Officer Daniel Gold to shoot Kanoa Wilson in the back twice. Daniel Gold is visibly scared on his body worn camera. He can't even say stop. He can't even call out commands even after he shoots him. So clearly we have officers that are in the field that are not ready to be in the field.
S1: And you reviewed this body cam footage firsthand? Yes.
S2: Yes. Mm.
S1: Mm. What other questions do you have about this case?
S2: I mean , I have no questions about this case to them because I've been doing this for so long , so I have become used to it. What I do do is advocate with community for the independent bodies to review , for DEA offices and US attorney offices , to allow grand juries to look at the evidence and weigh in and to take take cases to trial. If there was no evidence , I could see that she say , there's no evidence , but there is evidence. There's a whole video that millions of people across the world have watched and saw a split second , scared reaction from a law enforcement officer that killed a 16 year old black kid who did not have a weapon in his hand , was not charging at the officer , was fleeing the scene. No different than bills and bills. They said , oh , she thought the handcuffs. He thought they thought the deputy thought the handcuffs because he had a handcuff dangling that didn't fly. So the , the , the clear thing is the law. And at the time Daniel Gold connected with Kanoa Wilson , there was no weapon. He saw no weapon. There was no there was no aggression. He was he ran right by him. So , um , you know , the community has become , I think , desensitized , um , to the fact that we know that it is very different. It is a different justice when they kill black people than when they kill everyone else.
S1: What does true community safety look like to you?
S2: A law enforcement and a judicial system that is not corrupt. That's what true safety looks like that protects the people even from themselves. Mhm.
S1: I have been speaking with community advocate Tasha Williamson. Tasha , thank you so much for joining us.
S2: Thank you.
S1: Also for more information about this case and the video of the case , you can find that at pbs.org. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
