Press Conference 8/27/2024 – Officer-Involved Collision

let me start by thanking everybody for your patience as we work through this very challenging day I think every police officer and every Deputy on a day like today goes through a reckoning we all know what we are signing up for we all know the hazards and and the dangers of this job but it's days like today that are a very real reminder of just how dangerous the job is and so as we process everything that's happened uh we we we greatly appreciate everybody's patience and the outpouring of support from State officials to all of our local officials uh every police chief the sheriff fire chief uh all of the news outlets uh the support has been amazing and I want everybody to know that we hear you and it's helpful I'd like to announce uh the names of the officers that were involved last night first the officer that we lost it's officer Austin matchar oh he's a 5 and a half year veteran in San Diego Police Department he's a San Diego kid uh Austin was a the kind of guy you want on your team as he was athletic he was a competitor he had a passion for training he was one of our field training officers in fact his partner last night was his trainee back in 2023 Austin had a very infectious smile and a character that made him one of a kind he survived by his sister and parents that live here uh and is a father of four kids I can't imagine what his parents are going through right now or focus is going to be helping them grieve and get through this process the other officer that was involved is Officer Zach Martinez Zach's been on for about a year and a half he's a Navy reservist he's a kid from Texas that came to San Diego in the Navy fell in love with this city he was born and raised to serve he's an EMT his heart is into helping people we're very optimistic he's going to be okay but he has a very long road to go uh the list of injuries uh are numerous uh we ask everybody to keep him in your prayers again the support has been overwhelming I'm very thankful his mom is out here from Texas uh he's got a younger brother and sister that are uh away at school and a father that's back in Texas as well and uh we're trying to keep them informed uh we stop a very long road to go uh with recovery I want to uh just wrap up before I bring the mayor up here and and uh Jared will be up here from the POA I can't emphasize enough how unique this community is and how we come together during these difficult times I want to commend our police officers that are out there right now protecting and serving with a heavy heart so with that Mr Mayor thank you Chief there are no words to adequately convey the agony that our city in particular our Police Department is feeling right now in light of the events from last night our condolences go out to Austin's family the incredible pain that they're currently experiencing I ask for San diegans to pray for Zach in his family uh his wounds are extremely grave and he is fighting for his life but like the chief says we are optimistic and your thoughts and prayers right now are needed more than ever to make sure that we get him back on the road to recovery I want to assure the families both families that the city will be with you every step of the way in the coming days as they navigate this horrific tragedy we will do that support in partnership with the San Diego Police Officers Association who has staff and a fund to make sure that the needs of these families and these officers uh are met in every way for as long as it takes to make sure that they're cared for a message for our police officers who are out working right now despite the pain that they're feeling your work is appreciated the city is grateful for you these folks take on the risk of these jobs recognizing that this sometimes can be the outcome as I ask sand diegans as you see our officers going about their work over the next number of days please make sure you express that appreciation to them directly they need to hear that from us Austin's loss is an absolute tragedy Zach's wounds are Grievous and will take time uh but I know my hometown I know that we love the San Diego Police Department we love our officers and right now is the time to show that uh last I just asked for San diegans to come together as the chief mentioned we are a wonderful community that knows how to come together right now is the time to do that uh I'll be thinking of Austin and his family we'll be doing more of this in the next few days to make sure that we honor him for what he is and I want his family and every San Diego to hear me say very expressly this man was a hero he was working last night on all of our behalf to make sure that we are safe and he has laid down his life and service to the city that a debt we'll never never be able to repay but we will do our level best in the days weeks and months ahead to make sure that we show our appreciation for him to his family to his loved ones to his squadmates to his teammates at the San Diego Police Department as I mentioned we have a partner in this work uh our chief of police and his entire executive team have done an incredible job over the last number of hours to make sure the city meets its marks with regard to addressing this horrific tragedy uh but we also have been uh partners with the San Diego Police San Diego Police Officers Association I'd like to ask uh their president Jared Wilson uh to share some more about how sanagens can support the department its officers and these families right now Jared thank you so much my name is Jared Wilson I'm a police sergeant and I'm the president of the sadio Police Officers Association I want to thank mayor Todd Gloria and chief wall for their support and Leadership for the last 20 hours they've been awake non-stop thinking about our officers and taking care of them and I want to appreciate the Command Staff behind me my rank of file officers out there working right now to protect everyone in this city and keep it safe Austin and Zach are heroes their sacrifice will not go unheard and unnoticed I know by this community because it loves their police officers and we need your help we're in it we're very sad we're a deep mour the San Diego Police offic Association has a 501c3 Foundation it's been designed since 1912 to H help officers in times of need just like this you can go to our website at sdpoa org or contact the Police Officers Association on vicker Street we are collecting funds to assist Austin's family and Zach as he bravely recuperates from his horrific injuries and we need community support and funds to do that and if there's any other ways anyone can support they're more than welcome to reach out to the Police Officers Association we know San Diego is going to step up and help us we know this community loves Law and Order and they love the police officers that go out every night while they're sleeping and protect the streets and that's what those officers were doing last night I cannot be more proud of them I cannot be more proud of the San Diego Police Department we are truly America's Finest this is America's Finest City and we thank you all for your support thank you I know there are a lot of unanswered questions right now we have a lot of questions ourselves uh I want to reiterate due to the enormity of the situation uh we brought or we asked uh the highway patrol to come in and assist with this investigation uh I want to thank the highway patrol for stepping up uh in in taking over this investigation for us with that uh they're going to have a lot of information and details in the days ahead so I ask for for patience at this point uh again we have a lot of lot of questions that we w't answered ourselves but unfortunately it's going to take time to reconstruct everything that happened uh and I know there's been some information out there that that we need to get corrected as soon as we can uh but but quite frankly my attention my focus uh is has been on the families our officers and making sure that their needs are met so I don't have a lot of those answers myself right now you continue to work through our PI office uh to get answers to some of the questions you have and we'll try to get the answers as quickly as we can so with that uh I'm not going to take any questions at this point uh thank thank you all for being here thanks