Sheriff identifies suspect shot and killed by deputies

January 25, 2017

slo sheriff flashThe San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man whom deputies shot and killed on Highway 101 early Tuesday morning as Josue Gallardo, 34. Gallardo pulled a gun on a pair of deputies, prompting them to shoot him, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s officials describe Gallardo as a transient from the Paso Robles area who was wanted on domestic violence charges.

Around midnight, the deputies pulled over Gallard as he was driving southbound on Highway 101 near the Santa Barbara Road exit in Atascadero. The two deputies approached Gallardo’s car and made contact with the suspect.

Gallardo then pulled a gun on the duties, who responded by firing shots and retreating, according to the sheriff’s office. Backup units then arrived at the scene, and authorities determined Gallardo was dead. No deputies suffered injuries during the incident.

At the time of the shooting, Gallardo had a warrant out for his arrest for the alleged domestic violence incident that occurred on June 23, 2016, according to the sheriff’s office.

Officials have yet to disclose any more information about Gallardo or the fatal shooting. An investigation is ongoing.


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I’m inclined to side with the deputies however for the sake of thought and consideration, my question is: Did this individual infact, have a gun in his hand when he was shot by the deputies? Having a gun on the seat of your car during a traffic stop is not a good thing at all and raises the stakes, but it shouldn’t be a death sentence. However if he had the gun in his hand and was moving to aim, then the decision on the part of the deputies to shoot him would be justified absolutely beyond any doubt. Only body-cam footage can provide doubt free answers to skeptics. I don’t blame anyone for feeling the way they do but we don’t have enough reliable facts to pass judgement. I’m real sorry this happened and my thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved and affected by this tragedy.


Of course he got shot; he pulled a gun on the cops. There can be no alternative ending. He was pulled over; that means lights and likely a siren. He knew it was the police. No sane person pulls a gun on the cops unless he means to shoot them.


My two cents (haven’t actually read too much on this incident)…


Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. I support the officers 100% so far.


Remember the CHP incident with the dirt bag from San Diego about four years ago in Paso? The CHP officer opened a dumpster behind The Boot Barn looking for the suspect while holding his taser. Like a Jack-in-the-Box, the suspect jumped up and shot at the officer. The officer lost part of a finger from a bullet and was also shot two more times in the vest. The suspect that was eventually dropped with several rounds but the officer was injured.


The officer will never again opt for his taser before his service pistol.


Who said anything about planning a gun? Yeah I think asking someone to get out of the car would’ve been a way better option then murdering him. That edited and pieced together video they posted only shows the aftermath after those cops unloaded into that guy. All reports say he had a gun and yet only some say he pointed it at the them. They knew who they were pulling over because they knew he had a warrant so they should’ve done a felony traffic stop. They intentionally pulled him over knowing it could get hostile and never called for back up. what if there were kids in the vehicle? Everybody on here jumping to conclusions so quickly based on a one-sided story from the good ole boys. There’s barely any facts or information about tHis other than what the sheriffs dept cronies have said. Let’s hear the audio and see the original body – cams and dash cam video. Then I might just give you your cookie for being right.


Before you all get all glorious and praise the deputies, just remember that they shot and killed someone. Someone that was a father, a family member, etc.

We don’t know the full story. We haven’t seen any body cams, dash cams, etc.

There are people in our community that will have to deal with losing a loved one now.

Do police not use any of the other tools besides their guns?

Its sad to see someone shot and killed by the police, then have the police immediately exonerated and glorified like they saved the town. They knew who he was and pulled him over, so they knew what they were getting into. They also didn’t call for back up ahead of time.

SLOSD is always in hot water and this whole incident smells fishy.


I’m not a law enforcement officer, but if I had a gun and someone pulled a gun on me you can bet your ass I’d shoot him. No questions asked. In that second that person makes that decision to draw down on someone they have literally taken their lives away. Law enforcement & military are trained to kill once drawn on. Everyone knows it. So its no secret whats going to happen. Mr. Gallardo should have thought about what his actions would get him before hand.


I would wait on jumping to such a conclusion.

Where is the dash cam and audio from when they first started trailing him?

All you have is one side of the story from a biased, jaded sheriff’s dept.

Lets not forget that they let one of their own slide home last month after driving drunk over 100 mph with a loaded gun. Good ole boys will take care of their own no matter what and I’m suppose to sit by and let it happen?

They get to be judge, jury, and executioner and I’m suppose to believe them 100% no matter what? Do you believe everything that comes from the law enforcement? If so that is sad. They have a record of incompetence going back for decades.


God forbid someone play devils advocate! Sheesh!


If the officers took your advice we probably would be hearing about 1 or possibly 2 Sheriff Deputies getting shot. Most people do not understand that these decisions are not thought over for any period of time. The decisions are usually the result of extensive training where the officers react to the situation in a mini second. It’s life or death.

I for one will praise the officer’s for performing their duty. Grab a gun or point a gun at a law enforcement officer and expect to get shot. Pretty plain and simple.


demiseofslo, True, there have been numerous incidents of unjustified shootings where LE acted in poor judgement. I don’t think this was one of those. I watched the video posted on FB by slostringer of the back up deputies as they approached the vehicle to confirm the condition of the suspect. One deputy had a rifle trained on the suspect as the other deputy reached in and retrieved the suspects pistol and set it on the roof of the car. You could clearly see that they did not plant a gun, so it is quite obvious this guy had a weapon. A law abiding gun owner knows a gun can only be transported unloaded and locked up in the rear of the vehicle where it cannot be accessed. If I was a cop and walked up to that situation, I would have done exactly what they did. The only thing I can think of as a Monday morning quarterback is that maybe they should have ordered him out of the vehicle with his hands up as they maintained cover at their vehicle. ….even so it probably would have ended badly since he clearly had intent to do harm.


Wait just a minute….back up the bleeding heart mobile.the “Victim” pulled a gun on a pair of LEO’s. In addition he had an outstanding warrant.

In this case I nominate him for a Darwin Award.