Savannah Graziano lays down on the ground during a shootout between her father, Anthony Graziano, who allegedly kidnapped her and killed her mother, and deputies in Hesperia, California, on Sept. 28, 2022 (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office via KABC screengrab). Insets L-R: Anthony Graziano, Savannah Graziano (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office via KABC screengrab).
Police in Southern California released harrowing video of deputies shooting an unarmed teenage kidnapping victim as she exited a car and followed a deputy’s command to walk toward him.
The incident began two days before the shooting on Sept. 26, 2022, when 45-year-old Anthony Graziano allegedly killed his estranged wife and kidnapped their 15-year-old daughter Savannah Graziano from a home in city of Fontana in San Bernardino County. Cops issued an Amber Alert the following day, sending out pictures of Savannah, her father and his pickup truck. On Sept. 28, 2022, a tipster called cops to say he spotted Savannah.
Police intercepted the pickup truck, driven by Graziano with Savannah in the passenger seat, which turned into a pursuit lasting several miles down Interstate 15 and into the desert city of Hesperia. Graziano allegedly fired several shots along the way, hitting patrol cars and injuring a deputy struck by shrapnel. San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement the day after the shooting that Savannah was a “participant” in shooting at deputies. On Monday, the Press-Enterprise newspaper reported a witness told dispatchers that shots were coming from the passenger side of the truck, but that statement is still under investigation.
The video, obtained by the Press-Enterprise and Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC, is from the sheriff’s office helicopter which is following the chase. It shows Graziano leaving the highway and trying to drive over a dirt hill. But the truck can’t make it up the hill and backs down into the area between the off-ramp and highway. Cops have the pickup truck surrounded and Graziano again opens up fire with puffs of dirt kicking up.
None of the deputies on the ground are equipped with body cameras, but they do have audio belt recordings. The sheriff’s office released the recording from the deputy closest to Savannah.
“Passenger get out! Passenger get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Passenger, Get out! Get out!,” the deputy yells.
Savannah, wearing a bulletproof vest and a tactical helmet, then exits the truck and lays down on the road.
“All right, girl’s out guys. Female juve is out. She’s out on the passenger side,” the deputy in the helicopter says.
The deputy closest to her instructs her to come toward him.
“Hey! Hey! Come here! Come to me, Come to me! Come! Come! Come! Come!,” he says. “Walk! Walk! Walk!”
Savannah gets up and starts to walk toward the deputy.
The narrator said deputies “at a distance and higher locations and with differing fields of view saw a person exit the vehicle and move toward other deputies.” Those deputies opened fire, hitting Savannah.
“Stop! Stop shooting her! He’s in the car! Stop! She’s OK. He’s in the car! Stop!” the deputy who instructed her to walk toward him screams.
The deputies stopped firing but it was too late. Their bullets hit Savannah.
Deputies went to her side and paramedics rushed her to the hospital but doctors pronounced her dead. Graziano also was killed in the shootout.
Dicus the day after the shooting requested that the state Attorney General’s Office investigate the incident under the requirements of Assembly Bill 1506.
Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 30, 2020, AB 1506 mandates that the state Attorney’s General Office, also known as the state Department of Justice, investigate through a new unit “incidents of an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian.” The core requirements are that the person shot and killed by police be a civilian and be unarmed. Similar protocols are in place in other states, including New Jersey, where “any discharge of a firearm by a law enforcement officer in the course of his or her duties, regardless of whether the shooting resulted in death,” is subject to investigation.
The California Attorney General’s Office announced it was taking over the investigation. The office declined to comment beyond what was already stated in the news release. The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office has referred all comment to the AG’s office.
According to her obituary, Savannah was home-schooled and was a devoted member of her church.
“Savannah enjoyed camping, skateboarding, playing video games, playing with her dog Aurora and spending time with her family and friends,” the tribute said.
Meghann Cuniff contributed to this report.
