Officers, Suspect In Fatal East County Police Shooting Identified

EL CAJON, CA — Authorities Wednesday publicly identified a motorist who was fatally shot by police last week after allegedly running down a lawman with a pickup truck outside El Cajon Police Department headquarters.

Benjamin Grube, 24, was mortally wounded when Officer Evan Drescher and Sgt. Kevin Maxwell opened fire as Grube allegedly was making a second attempt to ram police with the vehicle, according to the San Diego Police Department, which investigates shootings on the part of ECPD personnel under a countywide agreement intended to prevent conflicts of interest.

The chaotic and deadly incident in downtown El Cajon left Maxwell with non-life-threatening injuries after being struck by the 2000 Toyota Tundra at about 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, police said.

Grube allegedly accelerated the vehicle onto a sidewalk, striking the patrol sergeant as he and an ECPD lieutenant were preparing for a retirement ceremony outside the police station in the 100 block of Civic Center Way.

"The sergeant was struck and thrown into the air as he tried to run out of the way," SDPD acting Lt. Jonathan Dungan said.

The truck then crashed into a tree, and the lieutenant called for backup.

"As additional officers responded, and while the sergeant was attempting to get back up, (Grube) reversed the truck and then drove forward toward officers a second time," Dungan said.

At that point, Drescher and Maxwell opened fire on Grube. Paramedics took the suspect to a trauma center, where Grube was pronounced dead.

Maxwell, a 28-year veteran of the El Cajon Police Department, was taken to a hospital. He was released from medical care by the following afternoon.

Drescher has been with the ECPD for about six years. He works as a motorcycle officer assigned to the agency's traffic unit.

The motive behind Grube's alleged use of a vehicle as a weapon against law enforcement personnel remains unclear, according to police.

— City News Service