Loggins family photo
Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr.
The union that represents the Orange County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr. last week has come out with its own version of the deadly incident.
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs president Tom Dominguez tells the Orange County Register that Loggins was behaving in a manner the deputy thought was threatening to Loggins’ two daughters, ages 9 and 14, who were in the car with him at San Clemente High School in the early morning hours of February 7.
The union’s statement to the media reports that after Loggins stopped his car in the school’s parking lot, he got out of his vehicle:
“The deputy began to follow Loggins on foot when he heard children’s screams coming from the car. Loggins, now in a darkened part of the adjacent field, could be heard yelling irrational statements. The deputy radioed for immediate assistance, informing dispatchers of a hit-and-run accident and child endangerment situation.”
The North County Times reports the additional Sheriff’s deputies who later arrived spoke with the Loggins girls, who told them their father was behaving “oddly.”
Then, according to the union statement, Loggins returned to the car:
“[Loggins] did not stop, ignoring the deputies who had their weapons drawn and got into the driver’s side of the car despite multiple warnings.”
One of the deputies then shot Loggins through the driver’s side window as he began to drive away. Loggins two daughters were still in the backseat of the car.
A final irony – the deputy who killed Sgt. Loggins was a former Marine.
