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Ervin Dekei Olikong

Age : 34

Gender : Male

Race : Native Pacific Islander

Date : 08/18/2021

Location : Rosemary Drive and Victoria Avenue

City : Highland

County : San Bernardino

State : California

Agency : San Bernardino Police Department

Officer(s) :Ernesto Luna; Jason Stack; Christopher Shipley

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during SWAT arrest operation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/18/2021, San Bernardino Police Department SWAT officers Ernesto Luna, Jason Stack and Christopher Shipley killed 34-year-old Ervin Dekei Olikong during an arrest operation at Rosemary Drive and Victoria Avenue in Highland. A fourth SWAT officer, Jordan Robison, was part of the apprehension team but was shot before he could fire his weapon. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office released a 41-page review in February 2024 identifying all four officers and providing extensive video, ballistic, witness and autopsy findings that were unavailable in the initial 2021 reporting.
The operation stemmed from a shooting the previous afternoon. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Velasco attempted to stop a white BMW for illegal window tint near Waterman Avenue and 10th Street. The BMW continued driving away while Velasco pursued. Surveillance recordings captured the BMW turning onto Bobbett Drive followed by rapid gunfire. Velasco and his patrol vehicle were struck, although Velasco escaped serious injury. Investigators recovered 36 rifle casings and later matched them to an AK-style rifle recovered during the investigation.
Police subsequently identified Olikong as the person they believed had fired at Velasco and tracked his cellphone the following day. Officers located him at his workplace in Perris and placed him under surveillance rather than immediately attempting an arrest. A sheriff’s fixed-wing aircraft followed his movements while San Bernardino police assembled a SWAT apprehension team.
During the afternoon, Olikong rode as a passenger in a gray Chevrolet sedan driven by a coworker. Police followed the vehicle through several locations in San Bernardino and Highland. SWAT officers repeatedly postponed an arrest while looking for a location where they believed they could make the apprehension with less danger to other people. When the sedan stopped along Rosemary Drive beside a large dirt lot, Sgt. Luna authorized the SWAT team to move in.
Luna, Stack, Shipley and Robison approached in an unmarked white van. Stack drove the van and activated a forward-facing emergency light and briefly sounded the siren. Police planned to use a “bump” maneuver in which Stack would use the van to block the sedan’s driver-side door while the SWAT officers exited through the van’s sliding door. Stack drove the van against the sedan and pinned the driver's door closed.
Video evidence reviewed by investigators showed Olikong retrieving a Glock 10mm semiautomatic pistol from a shoulder bag shortly before the SWAT van reached the sedan. According to the driver, Olikong recognized that police were approaching. The driver told investigators he heard Olikong prepare the handgun immediately before the confrontation.
Olikong exited through the passenger side and fired repeatedly toward the SWAT van before the officers had fully emerged. The van was struck seven times. Robison was the first officer attempting to exit and was hit by multiple rounds in his abdomen, arms, shoulder and leg. Shipley was shot in the leg. Robison attempted to return fire but his arm injuries prevented him from firing his weapon.
Shipley fired his Colt M4 rifle at Olikong. Luna then fired approximately six to eight rounds, and Stack exited the driver's side of the van and fired approximately four to six rounds. After Olikong fell backward into the adjacent dirt field while still holding the pistol, Luna fired one additional round and then approached and removed the handgun.
Olikong sustained approximately 17 gunshot wounds, which the autopsy determined were immediately fatal. Fire personnel pronounced him dead at approximately 3:57 p.m. Robison required multiple surgeries and approximately a month of hospitalization and rehabilitation. Shipley was treated for his leg wound and released from the hospital the following day.
The evidence supporting the shooting sequence was substantially broader than officers’ statements alone. Investigators reviewed aerial surveillance, civilian recordings and other video, interviewed civilian witnesses, examined the SWAT van and firearms, and conducted ballistic testing. The District Attorney reported that several civilian witnesses said police returned fire only after Olikong began shooting.
On 02/20/2024, more than two years after the killing, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office publicly released its completed review. Prosecutors concluded that Luna, Stack and Shipley acted in lawful self-defense and defense of the other officers and would not face criminal charges. Although the memorandum also legally cleared Robison, its factual reconstruction establishes that his wounds prevented him from actually firing during the encounter.
Olikong was born on 01/08/1987 in Koror, Palau, and spent the first 15 years of his life there before moving to the United States in 2002. He was a husband and father of four children and worked as an entrepreneur.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Sergeant Ernesto Luna commanded the four-person SWAT apprehension team and authorized the officers to move in at Rosemary Drive. Luna fired approximately six to eight rounds during the initial exchange and an additional round after Olikong fell.
Detective Jason Stack drove the unmarked SWAT van and deliberately positioned it against the sedan to prevent the driver from opening his door. After gunfire began, Stack exited the driver's side and fired approximately four to six rifle rounds.
Officer Christopher Shipley was shot in the leg as he attempted to exit the van and fired his M4 rifle at Olikong. Officer Jordan Robison sustained multiple gunshot wounds and attempted to return fire but was physically unable to discharge his firearm.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/08/19/man-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-highland-identified/
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/08/19/highland-police-shooting-man-killed-identified/8200463002/
https://www.vvng.com/highland-man-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-identified/
https://abc7.com/ervin-olikong-highland-san-bernardino-police-officers/10962433/
https://da.sbcounty.gov/2024/02/20/officer-involved-shooting-fatal-highland-olikong-e/
https://da.sbcounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/120/2024/02/OIS-Public-Release-Memo-Olikong.pdf
https://abc7.com/highland-san-bernardino-police-officers-deputy/10960360/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-18/2-law-enforcement-officers-reportedly-shot-in-highland
https://www.emmersonbartlett.com/obituaries/ervin-dekei-olikong