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Alleged cop killer suffered mental illness after losing job, mother says

May 13, 2021

Edward Zamora Giron

The San Luis Obispo man who shot and killed one police detective and wounded another suffered from mental illness in the aftermath of losing his job at the rock climbing gym he allegedly burglarized hours prior to the fatal shooting. [KSBY]

Early Monday morning, Edward Zamora Giron allegedly broke into The Pad Climbing in San Luis Obispo and stole undisclosed items. Giron lost his job at The Pad Climbing after coronavirus closures took effect last year, his mother said.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, six officers attempted to serve a search warrant at Giron’s apartment on Camellia Court. The search warrant related to a spree of commercial burglaries, according to local law enforcement.

Officers knocked and announced they were there, but Giron, 37, did not open the door. After an extended amount of time, officers broke down the door to find Giron armed and lying in wait.

A shootout ensued, during which Giron shot and killed Detective Luca Benedetti, 37, and shot and wounded Detective Steve Orozco. Giron died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and other injuries consistent with being struck by the officers’ return fire.

Caroline Wichman, Giron’s mother, said her son became devastated after losing his job at The Pad Climbing gym last year. Giron had worked all the time and had no one to reach out to, Wichman said.

Distraught by the loss of his job, Giron developed depression and anxiety. His mother tried to seek help for him but was not successful, she said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said law enforcement was not aware of Giron having any kind of mental illness at the time officers served the search warrant.


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I read it fast, but didn’t the New Times state that the mother contacted local authorities and warned them about her son? I’m interested in finding out if the ball was dropped along the way, and if so, who dropped it.


3

I’ve lost jobs. I didn’t kill anyone.


I’ve been clinically depressed. I didn’t kill anyone.


50

Well, good for you. Then I guess you didn’t have exactly the same conditions as the alleged perpetrator, or you wouldn’t be here to write that post. Why does everyone think they are an expert on that mans’ undiagnosed mental health issues? How ridiculous.


-41

Alleged perpetrator? Really? How ridiculous. How about “alleged mental illness ” as well? More like a debased mind from drugs and alcohol is more likely. A self induced condition. Alleged of course.


15

Bring back mental institutions and court ordered Psychiatric confinement….“la garde en établissement.” goes way back because it was the right thing to do for all concerned…


52

One of our LEOs is very dead and another wounded now because of a third persons’ unaddressed mental health issue. I think the inappropriateness of the replies on this site have reached a new low when barking about how the (now also dead) mentally ill perpetrator should be held “fully responsible”. So, how do ya’ll propose to do that? Put his corpse on trial and have it electrocuted? I do not see that returning our lost officer to his family. The time to prevent his loss would have been before the percolating mental health issue (which went completely without professional diagnosis or assistance) progressed to the immediate danger point and before the possession of a gun in the hands of someone that unstable.


If you want to call the actions of the alleged perpetrator “responsible”, I would say we have a vastly different definition of that word. I fail to see how that position in any way addresses the growing epidemic of mental health/firearms issues we have in this country. I can only surmise that some of you are just as comfortable sacrificing our LEOs as our school children and other gun victims on the altar of “freedom” of anyone whatsoever to have all the weapons they want.


-62

First of all, he was ‘fully responsible”. His actions prior to this, led to this search warrant being served. It’s not “inappropriate” to have a view different from yours regarding this. This person had a history of drug use, alcohol use and prior’s for burglaries. Is it possible his use of drugs and alcohol had anything to do with in ability to think clearly? Could that also be why he wasn’t employable? Is it possible that he burglarized to feed his addictions? Is it possible the gun came from one of his many burglaries? Can it be possible that his poor choices in these areas led to his alleged mental illness? Who’s responsible for ones actions and choices, but that individual themselves. The responsibility for the loss of life, including his, the injured officer, the pain and loss for all families involved along with first responders is on this man and his choices.


The lack of individual accountability, and responsibility is also a major problem for our society today. Many are all to quick to blame others for their situations instead of looking at themselves squarely in the mirror. Who is the best advocate for you, but yourself.


For you to compare the cold blooded murder of this heroic Police Officer as a sacrifice for the Second Amendment is beyond sensible thinking. I’m glad you care so much for violence against children. So do you stand for the “Freedom” of that innocent unborn child’s right to life? Or am I to surmise your comfortable looking the other way while these precious lives are sacrificed?


19

Well said


1

In liberal la-la land, a person believes everyone else is responsible for them and for THEIR feelings.


15

Very well put Francesca, The unavailability of mental health treatment in this country is a national disgrace and this love affair with guns has got to stop. Not everybody should have access to a gun all the time and when these two issues collide the loss of life often happens. I expect very few on this site to have the ability to think outside of their won little box on this issue but will fall back on their closed minded conservative talking points which will do nothing to address these problems. So many other countries have developed policies to deal with guns and mental health that actually work and these countries are more free than the United States. Don’t take my word for it, do your own research. We must change or we will continue this senseless loss of lives.


-8

bravo felissimo!

They are just trying to cover for continuing unregulated gun ownership with the “he is 100% responsible” jazz.


-16

He is. He alone brought this on. You can’t twist the facts on this one.


6

It’s obvious mazin has never attempted to purchase a firearm.


“Unregulated”? pffft.


3

Indeed, there is so much false and misinformed information regarding firearms ownership from certain bloggers it sometimes appears futile to respond to them. People will believe what they want to it regardless of facts, logic, and historical analysis.


The 2nd amendment is number 2 for a reason. For some historical background one ought to read Federalist 46, among others.


0

Depression and anxiety are NOT EXCUSES for murder! This person should be held 100% responsible for their actions. He knew what he was doing.


67

I’m sorry, but there is no acceptable excuse for his actions. There is more behind his actions and poor choices that led to this tragedy. He alone is responsible for the whole thing.


62

Mental illness is a huge problem in the US and is only getting worse. Beginning in the 1960’s and through the late 1980’s at least, the level of care of the mentally ill has waned due to several factors, not the least of which is funding, This is not a purely political problem, it isn’t a Democrat or Republican problem. I know it’s popular to lay the problem on President Reagan but besides being overly simplistic, that talking point polarizes meaningful conversations.


In my opinion, this is a a public health problem, like HIV, or Covid, that has many aspects, legal, monetary, emotional, cultural and yes , a sprinkling of politics thrown in.


The question is, what are WE gonna due to address it. I admit, I don’t have the answers, some thoughts perhaps but again, really this is a complex issue that will continue to eat away at American civilization.


Just my opinion.


45

Idk, I think the spreading “awareness” of mental health issues has caused a lot of people to question their own mental health unnecessarily, and then they are reacting poorly to their perceived “problem”. Being sad occasionally doesn’t make you depressed, questioning the meaning of your life doesn’t make you suicidal. It’s all being over thought.


21

Exactly why we need more education on the subject. It’s touchy and it shouldn’t be. We all have mental health. It’s a holistic perspective and a very important at one.


7

The biggest most under looked problem by far. this pandemic just made it a whole lot worse and we will see repercussions from this pandemic for some time. Most people don’t understand the crisis. Curious the numbers here…how many does mental illness kill compared to covid?


7

Carter signed the law, that eliminated federal funding for social programs the state should be funding themselves.


Reagan simply enforced that law.


In 1967, Governor Reagan signed the LPS Act, that forbid involuntary confinement at mental institutions. Reagan did NOT shut down mental facilities in California. Since you’d have to be crazy to volunteer to be rubber-roomed, the incarcerated mentally deficient population dwindled rapidly, and those people became the loons we all know and love, peeing on the walls of downtown and screaming at passerby’s.


4

Here we go blaming the killers very act on mental illness. Mental illness doesn’t mean you assassinate a policeman. He thought very clearly about burglarizing his former employer in then he put an equal amount of thought into taking this young mans life.


61

Impulsivity and mental illness goes hand and hand.

A healthy grounded individual could have bad thoughts way the consequences and not act on them. Mental illness is the root cause of a lot of problems and is widely overlooked.


12

often related to drug and alcohol abuse. The root cause to the majority of personal issues.


5

The question is, would mental health treatment prevented the loss of life.


12

No. November 1992 Lynwood “Snake” Drake III killed 6 from Morro Bay to Paso, then killed himself when surrounded in San Miguel. He was well known by SLO Mental Health as a paranoid drug abuser. He wasn’t suppose to have guns either. Those above (not you Freethebud) that think SLO Mental Health could have interceded need to be reminded that Mental Health and the hotline help the folks contemplating suicide, not murder.


0

5150= threat to self or others. Not just to self. You are most likely missing a very important word there in between paranoid and drug abuser, though I choose not to diagnose because I am not a psychiatrist. its not to say that all can and will be prevented but having the proper knowledge set and community alliance could help prevent a whole lot more. As for the guns thing, those that want them will find them and when those that follow the law can’t have them those that don’t follow the law will. Scary.


2

He thought clearly? None of that seems like clear level headed thinking to me.


3