[Music] welcome back to the civil rights lawyer Channel today we're diving into a disturbing case out of San Diego California a police shooting that left a 16-year-old boy dead sparking outrage and serious questions about the Fourth Amendment this incident happened on January 28th 2025 but the details and body cam footage were just released last week and they shine a spotlight on something that is very common in police shootings across the country let's break it down step by step and figure out what this means for your [Music] rights tonight dozens joined a candlelight vigil held for 16-year-old Canoa Steven Wilson now for the first time we're seeing the moments leading up to a San Diego Police Officer shooting and killing the 16-year-old down town on the night of January 28th San Diego police officers were already downtown responding to an unrelated call near the Santa Depot trolley platform that's when they heard gunfire shots ringing out in the distance multiple security cameras captured the shooting incident that happened 16-year-old juvenile Canoa Wilson can be seen walking through a corridor in the Santa Fe Depot when that 16-year-old juvenile reached the train platform there was a confrontation that ensued between him and two other individuals one of those individuals also a 16-year-old juvenile pulls out a gun and fires multiple shots towards Wilson who then begins to run away obviously fearing for his life approximately 30 seconds before the shooting incident San Diego Police Officer Matthew gold who had been on the forest for 2 years exited his patrol car on the ketner boulevard side of the Santa Fe Depot as the shots were being fired another officer only identified as officer number one broadcast the following over the radio for I got shots fired again I got shots fired over after hearing only that snippet of what was broadcast over the radio by Officer number one and also hearing the sound of the gunfire officer Matthew gold then ran towards the Santa Fe Corridor and unbeknownst to him this 16-year-old juvenile who is fleeing for his life is running in the opposite direction coming directly towards him officer gold arrived at the corridor entrance at about the exact same time as the juvenile who again is running away from the shooting incident as they're about to collide now officer Gold's body cam is on and we can hear the audio of what was said and also what was unsaid he's clearly running away from something it would be reasonable believe that he's running away from the incident where where the shots were fired the officer does not know anything about the shooting he only heard the shots he heard the radio call from the other officer who heard the shots I got shots fired again I got shots fired over he sees an unknown individual running away does not observe a firearm or any other weapon does not observe any sort of threatening moves or behavior by this unknown individual yet makes the split-second decision to shoot him without saying a word after the kid was shot he kept running and he screams out in distress and then he disappears behind the police cruiser s the police only after that happens did the first words come out of Officer Gold's mouth when he quickly said San Diego Police Department San Diego Police now here's the reason why I included an asteris as Aster whatever the hell those things are in the initial graphic when I said unarmed after he was shot medical treatment begins then the cops find a gun ins ins his clothing easy with the G okay as far as I can tell it's Undisputed that no police officer observed that firearm until after the shooting had already occurred yet what is the main thing that law enforcement already before the investigation is completed wants you the public to know about the shooting that they found a gun and if you look at the local news stories half of the comments say a 16-year-old shouldn't have had a Gun there's two problems with that one it's legally irrelevant because the officer did not observe that gun which by the way was not fired total nonissue legally speaking it's just in the court of public opinion the cops are saying look at least we shot somebody who had a gun who shouldn't have had a gun but my second point is I mean this kid was just shot at who's to say he did not need a gun let's take the 16-year-old fact out the officer did know he was 16 at the time people can legally carry concealed pistols in California looking at it objectively not knowing his age he's running away from being shot at perhaps he did need a gun so here that's a complete red herin what is actually relevant to the courts under the Fourth Amendment the police can't just shoot you because they're scared the Supreme Court laid this out in Tennessee versus Garner back in 1985 deadly force is only Justified if the police officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses an immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others then there's Graham versus Connor from 1989 which says that the reasonableness of force depends on the totality of the circumstances the severity of the crime whether there's immediate danger and whether the suspect is resisting or fleeing so here's the setup shots are fired somewhere this this 16-year-old is running away from the area where those shots came from officer gold doesn't see him shoot doesn't see a gun in his hand and doesn't give any clear warning before shooting this kid Canoa is not charging at him he's clearly just trying to get out of there as soon as possible so where's the immediate threat the ninth circuit which covers California has ruled on many cases like this before and they've said it time and time again shooting a fleeing suspect without a clear and immediate danger to somebody violates the fourth amendment in akh versus city of Tustin 2016 cops shot a guy walking away after reports of shots fired no gun in hand the court said it could be excessive in Cruz versus Anaheim 2014 the suspect fled he reached for his waistband allegedly got shot no gun was found on him the ninth circuit said that a jury could find that that was a Fourth Amendment violation depending on whether or not they actually believe the cops claim that he went for his waistband because if he didn't that definitely is a Fourth Amendment violation Hayes versus County of San Diego 2013 and George versus Morris of 2013 both hammered this home no clear danger no justification bottom line if an officer hears shots sees you running and pulls the trigger without seeing a crime or a threat like what we see happen to Canoa Wilson it's almost certainly going to be a Fourth Amendment violation and the federal courts and the ninth circuit are almost certainly going to deny qualified immunity to any officer who shoots under those circumstances the ninth circuit is clear fleeing alone does not Greenlight deadly force even if an officer hears shots so this shooting has drawn scrutiny for good reason the San Diego Sheriff's Office is investigating and the community is now demanding answers this officer needs to be held accountable for not taking protocol into consideration and um not being aware of what he was actually doing tonight a vigil was held downtown people set out C photos and messages in honor of Canoa Steven Wilson we're going to miss them but uh this is how we uh remember was this a tragic mistake a rush to judgment or something worse what do you think if you were on the jury and you watched this body cam footage was this shooting Justified or did it cross the line and violate the Fourth Amendment drop your thoughts in a comment if you want more breakdowns like this hit that subscribe button remember our rights don't end where your fear begins freedom is scary deal with it [Music]