Chargers LB shot by off-duty officer

[Howard]

September 03, 06

SAN DIEGO - Chargers linebacker Steve Foley was shot in front of his suburban house by an off-duty policeman early Sunday morning. Coach Marty Schottenheimer said the wounds were not life-threatening.

"All we're worried about is that he's OK," Schottenheimer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Sheriff's officials said the early morning shooting occurred after the off-duty Coronado police officer followed a suspected drunken driver weaving in and out of traffic at speeds up to 90 mph on a highway. Authorities said the driver nearly collided with several other vehicles.

The officer attempted to stop the vehicle at least three times, but Foley drove away, sheriff's officials said. During one of the stops, Lisa Maree Gaut, a passenger in the vehicle, yelled at the officer, authorities said.

The shooting occurred after Foley got out of the vehicle and began walking toward the officer, sheriff's officials said. Gaut got behind the wheel and drove next to Foley in the direction of the officer, the officials said.

The officer identified himself, authorities said, and warned Foley he was armed. He fired a warning shot, at which point Gaut steered the car at the officer, sheriff's officials said.

"The officer fired two rounds at the vehicle," sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said. "The male then came at the officer and put his right hand by his waistband and the officer fired at him."

Paramedics were called to the suburban San Diego neighborhood at 3:47 a.m. and transferred a trauma victim to Sharp Memorial Hospital, according to a fire department dispatcher.

Hospital spokeswoman Kathy Gambito said she did not have any information on a patient named Steve Foley.

Foley's agent, David Levine, told The Associated Press that Foley was shot three times and had surgery for wounds to his leg, arm and chest.

"He's out of danger at this point," Levine said.

Sheriff's officials wouldn't say how many times Foley was shot. Coronado police also declined to give any information about the off-duty officer.

Gaut was taken to a sheriff's station. It wasn't immediately known whether she would face any charges.

Team officials confirmed the shooting but declined to provide details.

"We'll try to provide more information as it becomes available," team spokesman Bill Johnston said in a statement. "Right now all of our thoughts are with Steve."

Foley, who played at Northeast Louisiana from 1994-97, has played eight seasons in the NFL, for Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego. He signed with the Chargers in March 2004. That year he set career highs with 10 sacks and five forced fumbles.

The shooting came eight days before the Chargers were scheduled to open the season at Oakland, and was the second time in four months that Foley has been involved in an incident with police.

Foley was arrested April 21 on charges of resisting arrest after police said he scuffled with officers. He also was booked on charges of battery on a police officer and public drunkenness.

The district attorney's office said recently it was not pursuing charges against Foley in that incident.

[Sean]

No word yet if the police officer was in a squad car or in his personal vehicle? If the cop was in his personal vehicle it could have been anyone claiming to be a police officer. Why didn't the officer call this in and wait for other officers in "marked" police cars make this stop?

[WaTcHeR]

Sean said:

No word yet if the police officer was in a squad car or in his personal vehicle? If the cop was in his personal vehicle it could have been anyone claiming to be a police officer. Why didn't the officer call this in and wait for other officers in "marked" police cars make this stop?

That seems to be the $64,000 question!

If the cop was in his personal vehicle, then he's an idiot! If he was in a "marked" police car then the linebacker was the idiot.

[WaTcHeR]

09.04.2006 - San Diego, CA - Chargers linebacker Steve Foley is lucky to be alive.

Early Sunday morning, Foley was shot at least three times by an off-duty policeman. Foley was shot near his suburban home at around four o'clock in the morning on Sunday after the officer chased him for several miles when he suspected the car was being driven by a drunk driver. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Foley's agent, David Levine, said that Foley was shot three times and had surgery for wounds to his leg, arm and chest.

At about 3:30 a.m., an off-duty police officer began following a suspected drunk driver around northbound Highway 163 and Highway 52.

The officer claimed the vehicle was weaving in and out of traffic, reaching speeds of 90 mph. According to the policeman, the vehicle nearly hit several other cars on the road.

Foley's car stopped three different times while the officer pursued them. Lisa Maree Gaut was identified as a passenger in the car. The officer said that she yelled out the window during one of the car's stops.

When Foley reached a cul-de-sac in Poway, which is the neighborhood where he lives, he got out of the car and began walking toward the officer's car. As Foley advanced toward the police car, Gaut got behind the wheel of the car and followed Foley along his side. The officer identified himself and fired a warning shot into some nearby bushes.

Upon hearing the shots, Gaut revved the engine and drove directly at the officer, who had exited the car at that point. The officer fired two shots at the car. The car did not strike the officer.

Foley continued to walk toward the officer and then reached into his pants with his right hand. That's when the officer fired and hit Foley. Foley acknowledged he had been shot, but he continued to come at the officer, and the officer fired and hit him again, sending him to the ground.

Foley was taken to a local hospital while the female passenger was taken to the Poway sheriff's station for questioning.

No charges have been filed against Foley, as of yet. It is still unclear whether Foley was armed.

Gaut, 25, was brought into the Las Colinas Detention Facility on suspicion of DUI and assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $17,500.

This is the second time in four and a half months that Foley has had a run-in with the law. He was arrested April 21 on charges of resisting arrest following a scuffle with police. He was booked on charges of battery on a police officer and public drunkenness.

Foley played college football for Northeast Louisiana from 1994-97. He has played eight NFL seasons for the Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego. He signed with the Chargers in 2004. That year he had the best season of his career: 64 tackles, 10 sacks, two interceptions and five forced fumbles.

www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004747619

[Sean]

Sept 6 2006 - An off-duty Coronado police officer who shot Chargers linebacker Steve Foley was identified Tuesday as Aaron Mansker, who has been with the force since August 2005.

[WaTcHeR]

09.06.2006 - Chargers linebacker Steve Foley was unarmed Sunday morning when he was shot by an off-duty police officer near his Poway home, a Sheriff's Department spokesman said Tuesday.

www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/top_stories/10_02_139_5_06.txt

[Pat]

The cop was in street clothes and an unmarked car. Rookies.

[ub1]

Foley said officer who shot him was trying to end his career

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Chargers linebacker Steve Foley told the off-duty police officer who shot him at least three times, "You're trying to end my career, man," according to a sheriff's department report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Foley made the comment after he was shot Sept. 3 outside his home, the report written by San Diego Sheriff's Deputy Robert Tockstein said. Tockstein, the first deputy to arrive after the shooting, wrote the report the day of the shooting.

The off-duty Coronado police officer, Aaron Mansker, followed Foley's restored 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme about 30 miles on the freeway on suspicion that the driver was drunk, the report said.

The shooting occurred when Foley got out of his car outside his home in suburban Poway, with the report saying Mansker fired after the 6-foot-4, 265-pound football player reached into his pants with his right hand.

Foley said, "You shot me in the knee," but continued approaching Mansker, who shot at least three more rounds at Foley before the player "went down" and fell unconscious, the report said.

Foley, who had been partying in downtown San Diego, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.233 percent, nearly three times California's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Mansker has been placed on paid administrative leave.

The 31-year-old Foley will miss the season.

His agent, David Levine, said earlier this week that Foley was hospitalized in fair condition with two gunshot wounds in his lower left leg and one on his thigh. Sheriff's officials have said Foley was shot in the hand.

Levine did not immediately return a phone

[WaTcHeR]

10.19.2006 - The off-duty police officer who shot Chargers linebacker Steve Foley last month admitted yesterday he never showed a badge to Foley or his female companion after following them to a Poway neighborhood. Coronado Police Officer Aaron Mansker testified that he was not in uniform and was in his own car the morning of Sept. 3 when he saw Foley driving erratically on state Route 163.

Mansker said he followed Foley, who was driving a custom Oldsmobile Cutlass at up to 90 mph, and identified himself verbally when Foley stopped his car on several occasions while driving home.

The first time Mansker shouted from car to car, Foley drove off, he said. The second time, Foley got out of his car on Pomerado Road and approached Mansker, who said he had his handgun drawn and shouted, “Police officer! Stop!”

Mansker said Foley looked at the weapon, said it looked like a BB gun, turned, walked back to his car and drove off.
Then, Mansker said, he again shouted who he was after Foley got out of his car near his home on Travertine Court.

“Throughout this whole incident you didn't show him your badge?” asked Ray Vecchio, the lawyer for Lisa Maree Gaut, the passenger in Foley's car that morning.

“I did not,” the officer said.

Mansker's testimony came during the second day of Gaut's preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court. After the hearing, Judge Frederick Maguire ordered Gaut to be tried on felony and misdemeanor charges including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.

The judge warned Gaut, 25, to take the case seriously, saying he had noticed her “making faces” during the hearing. If convicted, Gaut could be sent to prison for up to five years.

Foley, 31, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving charges. He was recently released from a hospital and is recovering from wounds to a leg and hand.

Mansker, on administrative leave from the Coronado Police Department, has not been charged.

Prosecutors contend that at the end of the pursuit, Gaut got behind the wheel of Foley's Oldsmobile and tried to ram the officer, who said he was waiting for a uniformed police officer or sheriff's deputy to arrive.

Mansker shot at the Oldsmobile and at Foley – who again was walking toward the officer – hitting him at least three times. Mansker testified he feared for his life because he saw Foley reach into his waistband.

Foley was unarmed.

Vecchio denied the accusations against his client, telling the judge neither Gaut nor Foley knew that Mansker was a police officer rather than a carjacker.

Vecchio said state law prohibits motorists from evading a peace officer if the officer is in uniform and driving a marked vehicle with at least one visible red lamp and siren.

“How could you know a person is a police officer unless they identify themselves based on the requirements of the law?” Vecchio said.

Prosecutor James Koerber argued that Mansker's power as a police officer wasn't limited to the hours he was on duty or to the jurisdiction in which he was sworn to work.

“A police officer in the state of California is a police officer 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Koerber said.

Maguire acknowledged the defense's argument that a key element of the case is whether Gaut knew Mansker was a police officer, saying “you don't want cowboys stopping people.”

However, the judge said, the evidence presented during the hearing was enough for the case to go forward. Citing testimony, the judge said he heard Mansker demonstrate the commands he gave to Gaut and Foley.

“He's got a booming voice,” Maguire said. “And frankly, if anybody looks like a cop it's Mansker.”

www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20061019-9999-7m19foley.html

[WaTcHeR]

To bad Foley didn't have a gun, he should have shot Officer Mansker in the head for being a dumbass. Judge Frederick Maguire is nothing but a retarded inbred.

[md4j]

watcher said:

To bad Foley didn't have a gun, he should have shot Officer Mansker is the head for being a dumbass. Judge Frederick Maguire is nothing but a retarded inbred.

Much like the person who made the previous comment.

[KC]

Chargers' Foley sues officer who shot him

Chargers linebacker Steve Foley sued the City of Coronado, Calif., and the off-duty police officer who shot him three times outside his home, his attorney said Wednesday. The civil suit accuses Officer Aaron Mansker of negligence and excessive force, and seeks damages from the officer and the city. Foley was shot Sept. 3 near his home in suburban Poway by Mansker, 23, a rookie Coronado police officer who was off-duty at the time but suspected the linebacker of drunken driving. Mansker told investigators that he shot Foley after the player reached for his waistband. Investigators said Foley was unarmed. Foley missed the season and wasn't paid his $775,000 salary.

www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/sports/basketball/16594837.htm