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San Luis Obispo releases video, details of fatal officer shooting

June 7, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

The San Luis Obispo Police Department released additional details and a video today of the shootout with the man who took the life of officer Luca Benedetti and injured another officer.

Shortly before 5 p.m. on May 10, 2021, six officers attempted to serve a search warrant on Edward Zamora Giron, 37, at his apartment on Camellia Court, regarding a spree of commercial burglaries. Officers repeatedly knocked and announced they were there, but Giron did not open the door.

Officers broke the door down to find Giron armed and lying in wait. Benedetti then asked Giron to come outside.

“Edward, come out here,” Benedetti said from outside the door. The door began to close and officer Benedetti pushed it open.

Giron then fired at the officers, killing Benedetti and wounding Detective Steve Orozco.

The other officers retreated and some shot at Giron.

Giron took Benedetti’s gun off his body and used it to shoot at officers before retreating back into his apartment.

Shortly after Orozco informed another officer he was hit in the head and arm, a shot was heard in Giron’s apartment. Officers then entered the apartment, and found Giron deceased from a self inflicted gun shot wound.


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Truly heartbreaking to see, but so important for people to get answers. There are a couple things that people don’t seem to see through the cowardice acts of Mr. Giron. Someone reported that he wanted to kill cops, an officer spoke to him, and then did a report. When the detective in charge of looking at his history looked into him, she failed to find this report, even though it was by her own agency, and she did find a report by an outside agency. That is the history of mental health or warning signs I bet the family feels were missed, that information would of changed the way the officers approached the house, 100%. The lawsuit was also to force SLOPD to release this exact video, since they had no concrete information or details, their minds went wild, can you blame them? Still no idea why SLOPD did not release the Critical Incident Video as prescribed by AB 748. This is truly, the day everything went wrong. From the research, to the approach, to Mr. Giron’s reckless and insensible actions, to them leaving Luca on the balcony and not even realizing it everyone failed to do the right thing. Also something not being reported but deserves a mention, Detective Orozco shot Mr. Giron twice after being wounded, not shot at him, actually placed accurate rounds into his target, very impressive.


0

This video was very disturbing:(

The entry itself can be second guessed, but what happened afterwards not so much!!!

They left him behind, to the point that the suspect came out and grabbed his gun, that is outrageous!!! The suspect is armed with a pump action shotgun with bird shot then gains access to a AR-15, if the sheriffs department hadn’t shown up to actually breach the room which probably caused the suspect to take his own life, things might have been worse!!!

When your brother officer goes down you step over him and protect him with your life, you get him out for medical aid, as if you were the one down:(


10

I hope law enforcement agencies learn from the tragic death of Officer Benedetti and reconsider their tactical procedures to prevent a similar occurrence. City & county leadership, Please provide our police with the best protection possible. Baseball caps are no substitute for Kevlar tactical helmets. And why can’t the first man (or 1st & 2nd) in the stack be someone carrying a ballistic shield to protect the officers behind him? Other measures like old-tech tear gas or new high-tech Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging are deployable options to completely avoid or at least assist a vulnerable frontal approach of an armed subject. These are reasonable protective measures that may have led to a different outcome for Luca Benedetti and Steve Orozco and may well prevent the death or serious injury of other officers in the future. Protective equipment and proactive measures are not really that expensive when weighed against the horrible loss and injury of our brave law enforcement personnel.


11

This incident is horrifying and I would not revisit this for public entertainment or use this as an anti firearm example. Just saying and peace to his family.


-4

I am thankful police departments release video like this to the public so civilians can see the reality of police work, and maybe thank them for doing a job most will not do. And remember, they do this work for you.


20

Two years after the tragety.


-3

Giron was an evil human-being. Giron got exactly what he deserved.


20

SLO PD Officer Luca Benedetti is a community hero, Eddie Giron is just a cop killer.


Edward Zamora Giron was influenced to kill SLO PD Officer Luca Benedetti after witnessing the anti-cop BLM protests, and it drove him to kill a brave LEO and also shoot Officer Steve Orozco. It is ludicrious that Giron’s family is now trying to cash in on their murderous son, and no juror should award any money to Giron’s heirs.


If anything, SLO taxpayers and the families of Officers Orozco and Benedetti ought to sue the family of Eddie Zamora Giron. He is, after all, just a common cop killer.


RIP Officer Luca Benedetti, always in our hearts.


46

Seriously? Is it really appropriate to use the tragic death of one of our LE officers, doing his heroic duty, as an opportunity to take a swing at equal rights protestors? I really don’t see any connection between exercising First Amendment rights and an out of control, armed felon. “Drove him to kill”? Making that stretch, as if the right to protest is somehow connected to robbery and murder, is IMHO, very disrespectful to the family of the officer who lost his life in the line of duty against an armed and dangerous criminal.


Making such a statement says much more about the one making it. Perhaps, it might be more productive to be concerned for how easily the violent criminal element in our society can acquire guns. Or are you in favor of them being armed? I would bet the family of our slain officer is not.


-32

Giron was reported to LE 8 times in the 10 months prior to the shooting; reported for exhibiting signs of mania and paranoia, screaming and crying while playing music on his balcony, public intoxication, and breaking into multiple businesses. The guy wasn’t watching BLM protests, he was suffering from mental illness and should have been institutionalized a long time ago.


Unfortunately, 90% of state hospital beds have been eliminated, with no community resources in placed to shore up the loss. The CMHA has been a massive failure. Giron is another example.


16

You could just as easily say he was influenced to be anti law-enforcement by watching the January 6th insurrection where many law-enforcement officers were assaulted by anti-government thugs. Or maybe one of the many violent shows and movies out there today. People need to take responsibility for their own actions and not blame others.


2

First and foremost this video proves the family of this monster and all the limp activist types that tried to elicit sympathy for the mental health issues of this killer were full of all the hot air most of us knew they were at the time.


The mom of this killer bellyached of a ‘cover up’, their atty said this was ‘officer created jeopardy’, they said they tore threw the the door and went in guns blazing. They did not. They said it was ‘friendly fire’. It was not. In fact this deranged criminal killed a cop, then stole his gun to do more damage.


How this family sued everyone they could makes one want to throw up. What’s garbage lawyer takes a case this slimy? One with no mirrors in their home cause the sight of themselves would make them as nauseated as we are forced to digest their nonsense. They sued the city, the county, the police, I mean any way they could pass the buck and gaslight us during this, they did.


This guy selfishly stole from hard working business people, and lived not considering anyone else. He killed a child’s father. A woman’s husband. Then wormed himself the easy way out of that too.


Then we watch his mom make the same lame excuses he spent making when he was alive. Blaming everyone. Wonder where he learned it.


30