The off-duty officer who shot and killed the man that stabbed him multiple times at a Fiesta Island incident Oct. 2 has been identified as San Diego Community College District police officer Victor Bocaya, according to SDCCD Police Chief Joseph Ramos.
Bocaya, a 25-year veteran of the SDCCD Police Department, was rushed to a local hospital with “serious injuries” to his upper torso the day of the incident and is now home resting, according to Ramos.
“I think that he is needing some time just to kind of process this thing,” Ramos told City Times Media over the phone. “He was pretty savagely attacked. He could have been killed, quite frankly.”
The deceased man, identified as 41-year-old Brian Maloney III, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the San Diego Police Department news release.
As reported in an Oct. 11 news release update from SDPD Lieutenant Jud Campbell, the investigation so far indicated that Bocaya was confronted by Maloney shortly after parking his vehicle on the island with his dogs.
Maloney began yelling at the off-duty officer from about 75 feet away before Bocaya could get his dogs out from the rear passenger door of his SUV, according to the news release. When Maloney began approaching him, Bocaya displayed his badge and identified himself as a police officer.
When Maloney began approaching him, Bocaya took out his cell phone to call the police and Maloney began stabbing the officer several times with a knife. Bocaya pulled out his firearm and shot Maloney one time, according to the investigation.
A knife was recovered on the sand near the assailant. The firearm was determined to be Bocaya’s personal weapon, according to the report.
Ramos said Bocaya, a current member of the SDCCD District Governance Council as the Police Officers Association Representative, is authorized to carry either a department firearm or his own personal firearm while off-duty.
The SDCCD Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officer’s discharge of his firearm, according to the SDPD. The investigation will determine whether any policy violations were made by the officer in terms of being armed, being off-duty and defending himself, Ramos said.
The police chief told City Times that Bocaya is not assigned to a specific campus beat, but assigned district-wide coverage on his watch.
Despite Bocaya being off-duty, the incident is being investigated as an officer-involved shooting by the SDPD.
According to the publicly accessible Brady List, the police veteran has no formal complaints filed against him. The Brady List is a record maintained by prosecutors that lists law enforcement officers and other individuals whose credibility or past conduct may be relevant to the defense in criminal cases, according to its website.
Bocaya was one of four SDCCD officers recognized for his work in 2010.
In a statement issued Oct. 2 regarding the incident, the SDCCD said it was focusing on the condition of the officer.
“Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time,” the district statement said. “The District is cooperating with the San Diego Police Department on the investigation.”
As of Oct. 7, San Diego police had no new information on the incident or investigation, Lieutenant Jud Campbell told City Times by phone. An update on the incident is expected as late as Oct 9, Campbell said.
Update Oct. 8 at 4:30 p.m.: The story was updated to include updated information obtained in City Times’ interview with SDCCD Police Chief Joseph Ramos, information identifying Victor Bocaya, and his role and history with the SDCCD.
Update Oct. 14 at 10:15 a.m.: The story was updated to include the identification of Brian Maloney III as the person who was shot and to include the details provided in the SDPD’s Oct. 11 news release update around the circumstances of the incident on Fiesta Island.
