Hello, I'm San King County Sheriff Patrick Wro. At the Sanwaqin County Sheriff's Office, we understand that incidents involving the use of deadly force are profoundly challenging, not just for the people directly involved with it, but for our entire community. These moments can be deeply emotional, lifealtering, affecting families, neighborhoods, and of course, the public's perception of law enforcement. Every day, our deputies come to work prepared for uncertainty, knowing they may be faced with unimaginable decisions. Our greatest hope is that every call ends peacefully, that everyone, both our deputies and the public, return home safely to their loved ones. The use of deadly force is never the outcome we want. It is the last resort made only when there is imminent threat to the safety of our community andor our deputies. We recognize the concern and questions these incidents generate and we are committed to investigating them thoroughly but with compassion and the commitment to hold all parties accountable for their actions. You deserve the truth. We are dedicated to providing it as we navigate this unfortunate event together. Hello, my name is Heather Brent, public information officer with the San County Sheriff's Office. I will be providing you with an overview of the incident that occurred on April 7th, 2025. Shortly after 9:00 a.m. on April 7th, one of our deputies assigned to the community car program, which focuses on proactive neighborhood engagement, made contact with two individuals at East Side Community Park, also known as Delmare Park. This interaction followed recent community complaints regarding illegal dumping and homelessness in the area. The deputy approached the individuals after observing what appeared to be illegal dumping in the park. Upon contacting them, the deputy noted that their vehicle had expired registration and through further observation identified what appeared to be a rifle visibly located in the back of the vehicle. Following established safety protocols, the deputy asked both individuals to stop moving items inside the vehicle and to comply with his request. When asked for identification, the second individual became visibly upset. At that point, two additional deputies had arrived on scene to assist. During the encounter, the situation escalated. The suspect, later identified as Gregory Fitzgerald, attempted to flee, resulting in a physical altercation. Deputies attempted to use a taser to subdue him. However, Fitzgerald broke away and fled the area. During this confrontation, Fitzgerald made verbal threats, stating he had a gun and would shoot the deputies. Can you show me that online and show me online that Delvire 3221 02 Chevy out of Stockton with a release liability out of stock? I carry Okay. Yeah. So it's Yeah, for sure. Mhm. Who does the Who does the card belong to? Me. You. Mhm. Okay. You know what's expired? I do. You know, I've talked to some of the the the sheriff's Someone ripped her off, sold it to her, and thought it was really the sheriff was the one who told me it had a 2024 tag on it. Yeah. And he goes, "That doesn't match, you know." And I did recently get a ticket for it to to um like take care of it. Do you mind giving me your ID and the ticket? Sure. Watch the glove on. I got to get to work. Is that your guy's dog, too? Yeah. What's the dog's name? Daisy. Daisy. Daisy girl. Is What kind of gun is that? Pel. Okay. Anybody on probation? No. No. I'm not ready to go to work right now. So, here's this is what I got when I bought the car. And then that's the ticket that I got. Hey, man. You mind just putting that stuff down and hanging out? Just cuz I did see work right now. I understand that. But I just saw the uh what we call it there. I don't know. I just came here. I put my clothes here because I'm waiting. I don't know if it's a polygon though. All right. Sure. I'm just waiting on my cousin to go to I got to go all the way to Mercedes. That's fine. Yeah. Okay. I understand that. Yeah. Do you have your ID? Do you have your ID as well? No, I don't have ID. Let's come back over here. All right. Hi. Let's come back over here, man. I like your jersey, by the way. Oh, thank you. I'm a Kaepernick fan, too. What's your last name? Uh, well, I didn't do nothing, man. I didn't do nothing. She get in trouble. Nothing. I'm not even in this vehicle. I just came here with my clothes to have her hold it. What's What's your name? I don't want to do that because you don't have to do that. Okay. Well, the clothes expired. Yeah. No, I just came up here and put it here cuz I can't carry it. My bagger. Yeah. Okay. Hey, uh, I'm going to go ahead and detain you then. No. Hey, bro. Hey, bro. Stop. Lay on the ground. On the ground. Hand behind your back. [ __ ] you. Hand behind your back. [ __ ] you. Shoot me, [ __ ] [ __ ] you. Shoot me, [ __ ] I'll shoot you. I got a gun. I'm going to shoot you, [ __ ] A short time later, Fitzgerald was located on the rooftop of a home in the 5,000 block of Ardell Avenue. Deputies immediately surrounded the area, established a perimeter, and attempted to negotiate a peaceful surrender. It's important to note that deputies were acutely aware of their surroundings, which included nearby family homes and an elementary school preparing for student release. These community safety concerns greatly impacted decision-making during this incident. When deputies first made contact, they had no prior knowledge of Fitzgerald's identity or any criminal history. Over the course of nearly two hours, our team worked diligently to deescalate the situation through crisis negotiation. During this time, we were able to gather more information about the individual, including a warrant out of Missouri. Fitzgerald had plead guilty to seconddegree assault in February of 2015 after beating and setting another man on fire. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, served eight, and was currently on felony parole with an active warrant for his arrest. He revealed that he had previously served time in prison, and made it clear, repeating multiple times, that he had no intention of returning, even if it meant losing his life. Throughout the standoff, Fitzgerald made continued verbal threats, repeatedly stating he was armed and indicating to deputies through gestures and hand movements that he had a weapon. Despite our ongoing efforts to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution, Fitzgerald repeatedly pointed what appeared to be a firearm at deputies and made direct verbal threats to shoot them. Members of our SWAT team positioned themselves on an adjacent rooftop on the parallel street, Carmelia Street, and a drone was deployed to safely monitor the suspect from above. All visual observations confirmed Fitzgerald appeared to be armed. What was the address of your emergency? Yeah, it's not a real emergency. Had a guy jump my fence. I hear sirens in the area. I don't know if the sheriff What's the address? Um, it's sloped, so he was left on top. I know he's laying prone or what? I thought we saw that tree move. Okay. Your [ __ ] ass. Hey, hands right there. You're good. Hey, get behind hands, man. Can't see his hands. Hey, I got the radio. I can't see. He's got his hand on. I know. I know. I know. You just keep keep working. Hey, why don't you come down? will get you to your drug court. Can you take your hands out of your pants? Hey, listen. We don't want Hey, listen. We don't want anything to happen. Yeah, he keeps Hey, what's your name? Keep saying we're going to have to shoot him. What was it? I saw him pull out something, too. I can't see. What is it? What do you see? I can't see. He just keeps turning around. Get ready, boys. 771. He just keeps uh pulling something out of his waistband. I can't tell, but it keeps pointing it at us. It just stay on scope. I'm staying on scope. Hey, do you have less lethal? I do have less. Go grab it. You got a less lethal 870. Go grab it. Hey, is your first name Greg? No. I don't know. I'm just trying to figure out your name. Hey, I want someone give them the straight rules of safety. What do you got over there? Thank you. Can we get on that PA? Go passenger side. And start reading rules of safety. Can you see what's in his hand? He's got nothing in his hand. What was that? Find a phone. Whose phone? Find a phone. No. Am I supposed to be looking for a phone? You dropped your phone. Yeah. Where'd you drop it? Huh? Did you drop it in somebody's backyard? Probably nothing. You want help looking for it? No, I'm good. You're good. You don't want it? No. What do you want? You guys can go away, man. I didn't do nothing to you guys. I'm not saying that you did. The drug treatment. Where is your drug treatment? Indiana. It's in Indiana. You're supposed to fly there. Yeah. You guys [ __ ] my life up, man. I'm trying to fix it. We want to help you fix it. We don't want to. You guys don't help [ __ ] We don't want to hurt you. I've never seen you guys help anybody. Never once. Someone comes up here, it's a bad deal, hey, look at me. Hey, I'm not going to send anybody up over there, but Hey, do me a favor. I'm not going to send anybody up. Hey, I'm not going to send anybody up there, but do me a favor. Just keep your hands out of your pants. No. Why? Huh? It's mine. What is my pistol? You got a pistol? Yeah. Told you that almost fell out from the wrestler. I need a phone. If I get you a phone. No. No. What? Knock them down. That's not what I was going to say. Oh, then what? I don't know. I was going to ask if you could keep your hands out of your waistband. No. You guys don't got your hands off your weapon. Well, no. It's cuz you're telling us you got a pistol in your pants. Huh? I do. Well, I understand that. But that's why I'm asking you to keep your hands out of your pants. We don't want to hurt you. I'm not going home. So, what are you not going home? Hey, Greg. If you want me to make that phone call, I need you to take your hands out of your pants. No. Greg, I don't want you to pull your pistol out. I do. I don't get my amp for me. Hey, Greg. Hey, Greg. I'm going to work on contacting your aunt, but remember the deal. You got to keep your hands out of your pants. What's up? No good. You ain't got a phone. You ain't got a cup of water. I'm with our crisis negotiations team. How can I help you? What's going on, bud? Greg, what's going on? I don't have a seat. Cut it. Just cut it. Talk a little bit louder. I can I was going to run, man. Okay. So, why are you on the roof right now? I did. Cuz you guys tried to detain me. Okay. Why'd you run? Cuz I don't [ __ ] with y'all. Okay. Well, you know we're not going away, right? I don't care. I'm not going down either. We're going to get you I'll stay up. I prefer you to come down nicely. Do you have a gun on you? Yeah. What kind of gun? This is a little one, but it's got enough shots on you guys. Okay. Well, I don't want you to use the gun. I don't want to use a gun on you either. Well, you ain't got one in your hand. You're right. That's why I'm not Don't want to use one on you. Good guy. Bad guy. My stepmom was a cop. I know it is. Where was your stepmom a cop at? Here. What's her name? What's her name? Rhonda. Rhonda. What are you Do you live in this area right now? Yeah. Okay. So, I take it Have you been in trouble in the past? Yeah. Do you have any wants or warrants for your arrest? Is that why you're on the roof? Yeah. What's the warrant for? No [ __ ] What's it for? Cuz there's a lot easier ways to take care of this than this. Like what? I ain't going back. Going where? Have you been to the pen? Yeah, I'm not going back. I'm going to shoot some of y'all first. I don't want you to do that. I don't want you to do that either. There's a lot of innocent people around here. You miss us, you can hit somebody not involved. What I need you to do is I need you to get on your knees for me. If you want water, I'll give you water the moment you set down the gun. Do what I told you to tell him to do. Get on your knees, Greg. Shut up. [ __ ] Greg, if you get on your knees, I'll get you some water. On your knees. Hey, Greg, I don't want you to pull the gun out right now. We're just trying to explain how to get rid of the gun. I know. I didn't get rid of it. If you If you pull the Listen to me. Listen to me. If you pull the gun out right now, you're going to get shot. I don't want you to do that. So, what I want you what I want you is I want you to get down on your knees and set the gun down on the roof. Nope. Okay. Do you breath? What's that? Wasting your [ __ ] breath. Okay. I I don't want to I don't mind wasting my breath to talk to you. Okay. Well, I don't want to do I mean, let's let's figure it out. Greg, I got the water here. I got it. You're right. I'll give it to you, but you got to put down the gun. Greg, what kind of gun you got? It ain't nothing big. It ain't small. But guess what? What's that? Satisfy my shot. All right. Why do we want to go out like this? Well, you ain't going to go out. Why do you want to go out like this? What do you mean you don't care? How did you lose at the game of life? You're still here. You didn't lose. McCoy, his right hand's moving. His right hand. He's got it. Greg, what do you got in your hand, man? He's had his pistol. He's got the pistol in his hand, he said. All I found right now is a misdemeanor warrant out of Humboldt that they won't even come get you for What is it? Oh, sin release only. I don't know. It's sight and release only. It don't tell me none of that. If it's even you. If it's even you. That's all I see. So maybe Missouri hasn't caught up to you. Shortly after 11:00 a.m., Fitzgerald suddenly took a seated shooting stance, raised his arms in a manner consistent with aiming a weapon at deputies. Believing their lives and the lives of others were in immediate danger, a SWAT operator on the rooftop and two deputies on the ground discharged their weapons nearly simultaneously. Each acting in self-defense or in the preservation of the life of another. Fitzgerald was provided medical aid and transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Don't do that. Just lay down and relax. Listen, if you want to take a break, just lay down and relax. Don't do that. It was black. It was black. Don't do that. There's no reason for that. That was something black. That happened in the drone. Why is the drone maring? Same black object. They can't confirm. Hey, lay down and take a break. Don't do that. Don't do that. Godamn. Shots fired. Sudden shots fired. Greg, lady, were you all right? No, he pointed something at us. In accordance with Assembly Bill 1506, the California Department of Justice, also known as DOJ, will assume the lead on an investigation into the actions taken in an officer involved shooting incident if the shooting is what the assembly bill defines as an unarmed person. An unarmed person is defined in that assembly bill as anyone who is not in possession of a deadly weapon. In this case, as you saw in the video, the suspect stated multiple times he had a gun, which obviously is a deadly weapon. He said he was going to shoot our deputies and held and brandished an object as if it was a deadly weapon, but the object turned out not to be a gun, as he had stated. Therefore, the Department of Justice team took the lead on this investigation. We are fully cooperating with the continue and continue to support the process of this investigation in any way that we can. As we continue to cooperate with the DOJ investigation, we ask for your patience and understanding. Both the Department of Justice and the Sanwaq King County Sheriff's Office are working diligently to uncover and present the facts of this incident in a timely and transparent manner. We want to thank the nearby residents and the school staff for their patience and cooperation during this difficult and evolving event. We understand the fear and the uncertainty these situations may cause and our priority throughout was protecting the community and resolving the threat as safely as possible. We also want to express our sincere gratitude to the California Department of Justice for leading this investigation into this incident and to AMR for their prompt and professional medical response. And of course to our dedicated dispatchers whose coordination and support were invaluable throughout this challenging situation. Should it become appropriate to share any additional information or or new or significant facts that emerge, the Sanwi County Sheriff's Office will continue to provide updates in a timely manner. So, I want to thank you for watching this video, as difficult as they can be, and for allowing us the opportunity to present this critical incident community briefing. And let's pray this one will be the last one.