Meth-head went looking for a fight and found it...
First video is from garage cameras at Hard Rock, followed by shortened police bodycam. Second video is the entire 10min Critical Incident Briefing.
SOUIX CITY, (March 5, 2024) — Back in early January 2024, a man was fatally shot by two Sioux City police officers. Now that authorities have finished their investigation, they say the use of deadly force against the man was justified.
During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis discussed a shooting that took place back in January at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino parking ramp. Loomis said Sioux City police officers shot and killed 55-year-old Salvador P-G.
After an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Loomis said the two officers were justified in the shooting and no charges would be filed.
According to Loomis, the series of events that would lead to this shooting started Monday, Jan. 8 at about 1:06 a.m. Loomis says it was at this time that Salvador P-G drove his Ford pickup truck into Hard Rock’s parking ramp.
“Salvador P-G was banned from casino property in June of 2023 for repeated thefts,” said Loomis during the news conference. “When he arrived that early morning on the casino property, he was again trespassing.”
Over the next three hours and leading up to the shooting, Loomis said Salvador P-G’s actions were “erratic, targeted, aggressive and violent.” Authorities also believe during these hours he had smoked methamphetamine.
At about 3:41 a.m. a Sioux City police officer arrived at the parking ramp and parked inside on the second level. Loomis says the officer was at the parking ramp conducting surveillance for a matter not relating to Salvador P-G in any way.
“It is clear that the officer did not know that Mr. Salvador P-G was there but that Mr. Salvador P-G knew the officer was there,” said Loomis. “At 3:52 a.m. and over the next few minutes, Mr. Salvador P-G threw papers out of the driver-side and passenger-side windows of his pickup truck. These papers, written in Spanish, referenced how the police are ‘corrupt’ and the casino is ‘culpable.’”
Security footage shows at around 3:56 a.m. Salvador P-G rammed his pickup truck into the officer’s parked vehicle.
“The collision was violent enough to deploy the airbags of the officer’s patrol car and Mr. Salvador P-G’s pickup truck,” said Loomis. “The collision disabled the officer’s patrol car and shoved it into a concrete wall. The officer was slightly injured and trapped inside his patrol car.”
After this initial collision, Loomis says Salvador P-G backed up his pickup and rammed into the officer’s vehicle again. He then drove his pickup down the ramp.
By 3:57 a.m. other officers had arrived at the parking ramp, responding to Salvador P-G ramming the police vehicle. Loomis says Salvador P-G purposely rammed into one of the responding patrol cars that was stopped in the parking ramp.
Authorities say what happened after this collision happened in about 17 seconds.
“Officers immediately got out of their patrol cars, Mr. Salvador P-G immediately got out of his pickup truck,” said Loomis.” Mr. Salvador P-G was armed with a dangerous weapon. The weapon has a metal handle with a considerable length of chain. Attached to the end of the chain is a weighted metal object.”
Loomis says one of the two officers who had gotten out of their patrol cars ordered Salvador P-G to “get on the ground,” “drop it” and “back up.”
“Mr. Salvador P-G attacked one officer by swinging his weapon wildly at him, the officer retreated,” explained Loomis. “Another officer attempted to go hands-on to get him into custody but Mr. Salvador P-G attacked him with his weapon as well, causing him to retreat. The two officers who were attacked with the weapon responded by firing their handguns.”
Officers attempted life-saving procedures on Salvador P-G but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller confirmed the two officers fired 11 rounds total, and 9 of them hit Salvador P-G. An autopsy later confirmed Salvador P-G died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The Iowa DCI was brought in to investigate this shooting. Their investigation has since been completed and after reviewing their findings, Loomis determined the two officers were justified in shooting Salvador P-G.
“His violent aggression was planned and targeted at law enforcement,” said Loomis. “His attack on officers with the Sioux City Police Department placed those officers’ lives in immediate danger. The use of deadly force was justified to put an end to that immediate danger. Therefore I conclude that criminal charges are not warranted. I consider the investigation to be closed.”
The names of the two officers involved in the shooting are not being released by authorities. The two officers were placed on administrative leave following the shooting but have since returned.
“Make no mistake, this was a deliberate and premeditated ambush on officers,” said Chief Mueller. “The investigation by the DCI and our own internal investigation revealed the suspect had a documented contempt for law enforcement. The night of the shooting he was actively seeking the attention of law enforcement to force a confrontation.”
#OIS 
