Seasides Officer-Invovled Shooting Investigation

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened over the weekend in Seaside.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Berkley Brannon says they were on scene by 6:30 p.m. and took over control of the investigation.

Saturday night Seaside police responded to a report of a domestic violence incident. Sometime after the first officer arrived, police confirmed there was an officer-involved shooting here. The suspect was identified as 27-year-old, Nester Cruz-Ciriaco.

Next-door neighbor, Reynaldo Villegas says he heard it all. “Suddenly I heard somebody yelling on the street and like two minutes later I heard the two shots,” says Villegas.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey.

The district attorney’s office is now taking over the investigation.

“Our purpose is to determine whether or not an officer committed a crime beyond a reasonable doubt and that’s why Seaside called us in and so that’s what we’re doing now,” says Brannon.

Brannon says its too early to release many details but he did confirm something that Villegas thought he heard.

Neighbor, Villegas heard shouts of officer saying,
” Put the baby down, put the baby down, three or four times.”

Brannon confirmed that it was true that the suspect was indeed holding a 3-year-old child and a machete at the time he was shot. The child and the rest of the family who live at the home are OK.

Investigators know that the 911 call came from inside the home. The suspect’s wife told us that she was too shaken up to do an interview.

The Seaside officer involved in the shooting is now on administrative leave with pay. Seaside police said this is standard procedure.

A neighbor down the street, Robin Shaw, says that she supports the police officer and believes that he did the right thing to save the child.