CARLSBAD — The Carlsbad Police Department released surveillance video and bodycam footage from a March incident in which a patrolman fired his service weapon at a man who allegedly struck the officer in the back of the head with a skateboard.
Carlsbad police released footage from the non-injury officer-involved shooting on May 30.
“This video contains audio and video footage from the incident to provide the public with a better understanding of what occurred based on the information available to investigators thus far,” reads a statement from police spokesperson Denise Ramirez.
The incident involved Carlsbad police Officer Michael McKinney, who was driving westbound in a marked patrol car around 11:15 p.m. on March 29 in the 1000 block of Carlsbad Village Drive. After driving under the Interstate 5 bridge, a rock struck his vehicle, destroying the spotlight and damaging the front windshield.
McKinney called for a supervisor and pulled into a nearby parking lot to inspect the vehicle.
A sergeant responding to McKinney drove under the same freeway overpass, where his patrol car’s dashcam recorded a man carrying a skateboard and walking toward McKinney’s parked vehicle.
The suspect was later identified as Kyle Andrew McCord, 32, of San Diego.
As both officers inspected the car, surveillance video shows McCord running up behind McKinney before apparently striking him in the head with the underside of his skateboard without warning or provocation, according to law enforcement.
At the time, McKinney did not know what had hit him, initially believing he had been shot in the head.
After the assault, McKinney ran for cover near the shopping center’s Smart & Final grocery store and discharged his weapon, firing at McCord three times as the suspect fled the scene on foot, heading west through the parking lot.
McKinney, unable to give chase due to his head injury, was taken to a nearby fire station.
According to the police, McCord, wearing a mask and gloves to conceal his face and hands, struck McKinney with the skateboard’s polyurethane wheels and metal truck. The bodycam footage also depicts a rock falling from the suspect’s pocket as he runs away.
The suspect ran for about three blocks, failing to mount his skateboard several times, before officers took him into custody in front of Garden State Bagels. McCord was booked into county jail on suspicion of assault, attempted murder of a police officer and committing a felony while on bond or release.
McKinney was transported to a trauma center and treated for a skull fracture, brain bleed and concussion.
No one was struck by gunfire during the incident.
The San Diego Police Department is conducting an investigation into the officer-involved shooting per a countywide memorandum of understanding. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office will review the entire investigation to determine whether the officer is subject to any state criminal liability for his actions.
Carlsbad police will also conduct an internal administrative review to determine whether the officers’ actions comply with department policy and procedures.
The FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office will also monitor the investigation.
McCord remains in custody at the George Bailey Detention Facility in San Diego and is due in court on July 10 at the Vista Courthouse.
