San Diego County prosecutors will not criminally charge the San Diego police officer who fatally shot a 16-year-old as the boy fled a shooting near a downtown train depot early last year, the District Attorney\u2019s Office said Friday.<\/p>\n
The decision not to charge Officer Daniel Gold II was detailed in a 14-page letter that District Attorney Summer Stephan sent to Sheriff Kelly Martinez and San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl on Wednesday but only made public Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
It comes less than a year after San Diego agreed in December to settle<\/a> with Konoa Wilson\u2019s parents for $30 million just six months after they filed a lawsuit<\/a> alleging that Gold shot their son \u201cinstantly, without any warning.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephan concluded the evidence did not meet the standard necessary to convict in a criminal trial, after reviewing reports, videos and other materials compiled by the sheriff\u2019s Homicide Division.<\/p>\n \u201cOur extensive review of the totality of the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident leads us to the conclusion that criminal charges against Gold could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n The district attorney decided that Gold \u201cbelieved he was facing a life-threatening situation,\u201d based in part on seeing Wilson running with his hand \u201cat his right side near his waist area\u201d just before he shot him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not able to make a determination that Gold\u2019s actions were justified, rather we have determined the evidence does not demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Gold\u2019s belief was unreasonable,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAs a result, Gold bears no state criminal liability for his actions.\u201d<\/p>\n An attorney for Wilson\u2019s family criticized the decision in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe criminal justice system is often biased and corrupt, especially when it comes to holding its own people accountable. Thankfully, we have our civil justice system to turn to when our criminal justice system fails us,\u201d lawyer Nicholas Rowley said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that the city of San Diego agreed to the largest wrongful death by police payout in world history for killing Konoa answers the question for San Diegans and anybody in America who questions whether the killing of Konoa was criminal. The answer is that it absolutely was,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n According to investigators, on Jan. 28, 2025, Wilson was shot and killed shortly after San Diego police responded to an unrelated call by a man who said he had been assaulted by security officers aboard an Amtrak train.<\/p>\n Gold and his police partner arrived separately at the nearby America Plaza trolley station; Gold\u2019s partner walked to the platform at the Santa Fe Depot to speak with an Amtrak police officer, and Gold parked outside the depot, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n As Gold\u2019s partner spoke with the Amtrak officer on the platform, the two heard gunshots, then saw a person in a hoodie running from the train platform toward a corridor leading to Kettner, both officers later told investigators.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got shots fired. Again, shots fired,\u201d Gold\u2019s partner broadcast on his police radio.<\/p>\n The person in the hoodie, later identified as Wilson, ran away from the gunfire, out of the corridor to Kettner Boulevard, and nearly collided with Gold, the District Attorney\u2019s Office said. Gold then opened fire.<\/p>\n Gold later told investigators he believed based on the radio call that his partner had been shot, and that he didn\u2019t perceive the teen as a victim because he didn\u2019t have his hands up as he ran out of the corridor.<\/p>\n Video from train depot surveillance cameras, smart streetlight cameras and officers\u2019 body-worn cameras show the moments just before, during and after the shooting and was analyzed by investigators.<\/p>\n Surveillance footage from just before the shooting shows Wilson arriving at the train platform and trying to speak with two people, before one of them pulled out a gun and fired two shots at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile running east through the corridor, (Wilson) has his right hand at his side and it appears he is not holding anything. (Wilson) leaves the camera frame, and then within seconds, the shooting incident involving Gold occurs just outside of the camera\u2019s view,\u201d the district attorney\u2019s letter says.<\/p>\n Video also showed the shooting and moments afterward \u2014 including the shooter and his companion fleeing along the train platform, and the officers providing medical aid to Wilson and finding a gun in his possession. Investigators and Gold said the gun was in a zipped-shut pocket of a pair of shorts Wilson had on under his pants.<\/p>\n In the civil lawsuit over the shooting, an attorney<\/a> for the boy\u2019s family said the teen had a gun because he was being targeted by local gangs, and pointed out that he was not accused of brandishing it.<\/p>\n The District Attorney\u2019s Office also cited the opinions of two experts it consulted on police practices.<\/p>\n A defensive-tactics instructor opined that an officer who hears a radio call of \u201cshots fired\u201d would likely believe another officer was firing or being fired on and respond urgently.<\/p>\n And a use-of-force expert \u201ccould not definitively say Gold\u2019s use of force was objectively unreasonable,\u201d and said it did not \u201cappear feasible for Gold to give commands or a warning\u201d to Wilson before fatally shooting him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe expert concluded that although Gold\u2019s response and use of force did not follow the traditional training protocol or have the desired outcome, his actions may not be viewed as unreasonable by peers faced with the same set of circumstances,\u201d Stephan wrote in her letter to Martinez and Wahl.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, Gold inaccurately, but not unreasonably, believed his partner was involved in a shooting and that (Wilson) was the suspect,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhen Gold encountered (Wilson) with his hand at his waist, Gold believed he was facing a life-threatening situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision by Stephan not to pursue criminal charges against Gold comes nine months after the city of San Diego reached a settlement with the Wilson family, one of the largest<\/a> ever paid in a police-shooting case, surpassing the $27 million Minneapolis paid to George Floyd\u2019s family in 2021.<\/p>\n