The California Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of Geoffrey Shyam Stirling, brother of former “Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member Lydia McLaughlin Stirling. The incident, which occurred Thursday night in Newport Beach, has drawn attention to police use of force protocols and left a prominent media family in mourning.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the investigation on Friday, stating that his office would conduct an independent review of the shooting that took place around 9:15 p.m. on April 17. This investigation comes amid growing scrutiny of police-involved shootings nationwide.
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Disputed Circumstances Lead to Fatal Encounter
According to the Newport Beach Police Department, officers initially stopped Stirling, 45, for a traffic violation while he was riding his motorcycle on West Coast Highway between Superior Avenue and Hoag Hospital. What happened next is now the subject of the state investigation.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the police department claimed Stirling “became uncooperative and assaulted the officer” following the stop. They further alleged that during the confrontation, Stirling “managed to remove the department-issued taser from the officer’s duty belt and attempted to deploy it multiple times against the officer,” at which point the shooting occurred…