Family identifies SM police officer killed during arrest attempt

[tabatha]

A Santa Maria police officer who was fatally shot early Saturday morning by another officer was identified Sunday by a family member as Albert Covarrubias Jr.

The fatal shooting occurred about 1:20 a.m. when two supervising officers tried to arrest him while he was on duty, for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl. Covarrubias reportedly resisted arrest and drew his weapon.
...

On Sunday, Santa Maria Police Lt. James Ginter would not confirm the identify of the officer who fired the fatal shot, but he has been identified by some local media as Officer Matthew Kline.

Macagni said during the press conference Saturday that the officer who shot Covarrubias had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is routine in police-involved shootings, pending the outcome of internal and external investigations.


Read more: http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/family-identifies-sm-police-officer-killed-during-arrest-attempt/article_8fbd2d36-4aef-11e1-9c37-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1l9Xs6E00

[TheWraith]

1. Apparently, Kline was a close friend of the dead cop and the best man at his wedding.

Also, we now know why they acted quickly to arrest Covarrubias--other reports say that he knew he was under investigation and was threatening witnesses, and they apparently had reason to believe the public would be in danger if he weren't brought in before he went off shift.