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NEWPORT BEACH (CNS) - The California Department of Justice announced Friday it will investigate and independently review the fatal shooting of a motorcyclist in Newport Beach by police as required under state law.
An officer conducted a traffic stop with the motorcyclist around 9:15 p.m. Thursday on westbound Pacific Coast Highway near Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, according to the Newport Beach Police Department.
Police stated that the motorcyclist, 45-year-old Geoffrey Stirling of Laguna Niguel, became uncooperative, removed a Taser from the officer's belt, and attempted to deploy the device multiple times against the officer, resulting in the officer shooting several rounds at him.
Stirling was taken to Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, where he was pronounced dead. No officers were injured during the shooting.
Stirling was charged March 25 with arson of property at Buck Shepard Associates Inc., a property management company in Laguna Niguel, according to court records. He was accused of committing the arson on March 21 and was due to be arraigned Monday, according to court records.
Under Assembly Bill 1506, which was signed into law on Sept. 30, 2020, by Gov. Gavin Newsom and went into effect July 1, 2021, the California Department of Justice is required to investigate all incidents of an officer- involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian.
Such shootings had previously been primarily handled by local law enforcement agencies and the state's 58 district attorney's offices.
The Department of Justice asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 916-210-2871.