BERKELEY — Authorities released video Friday of a Nov. 6 police shooting of a man who allegedly rammed a police car with a stolen vehicle and then drove onto a sidewalk — toward officers and at least one suspect — in an attempt to escape.
Police have not released the name of the officer who fired. The man killed has since been identified as David Bonino, 39.
Officers had been dispatched to the area of 7th and Grayson streets about 5:25 a.m. Nov. 6 for a report of three people breaking into vehicles.
One suspect was detained at the scene, but Bonino, who was driving, and a woman fled in what turned out to be a stolen Ford Expedition. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle and blocked off the roadway as it headed into the surrounding streets.
At one point in the video, the Expedition reappears on Grayson; it heads toward the blocked vehicle, reverses into a police vehicle that has approached from the rear, then swerves right onto a sidewalk occupied by two police officers, the suspect who had been detained, and an uninvolved pedestrian.
At that point, the officer who had been detaining the other suspect pressed that suspect against a parked car, holding them both inches away from the passing Expedition, and fires a number of shots — at least six, as many as nine — at the SUV as it drives by.
One officer can be heard shouting out for the other officers to take cover when he sees the vehicle. He then shouts “245 (assault) on an officer! 245 on an officer!” and draws his gun as the Ford backs into the police car. As the SUV heads onto the sidewalk, the officer yells, “he’s trying to run us over!”.
After the shooting, the Ford traveled forward, coming to a stop at the end of the block when it is pinned against a building by a police car. A woman inside the vehicle can be heard screaming as police begin attempting to remove Bonino and give him medical treatment.
He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Berkeley police Officer Jessica Perry said that because of the still ongoing investigations, including by the department and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, no other information is being released at this time.
She said the video and audio portions were released in the interests of transparency and so that the community could have as much information as possible when officers are involved in what she described as a critical incident.
VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED: Video contains graphic content.
