SB police chief talks about terrorist attack in exclusive interview
Three months after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead and 22 wounded, the San Bernardino Police Chief, Jarrod Burguan, is sharing his story about how events unfolded that day.
He was in a meeting at city hall when he first found out that something terrible was happening.
Burguan rushed to the scene shortly after 11:00 a.m..
“The initial command post was set-up on the trunk of a police car, it was probably a little too close to the scene,” Burguan says.
He describes listening to the police radio, as police tracked down the suspects about four hours after the attack.
“I think there were a total of six minutes of gunfire altogether, between the suspects and the officers.”
The two shooters, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, were killed. One officer was wounded in the shoot-out.
Burguan says there’s no way to describe what his officers saw that day.
“You can’t relate it to any movie you’ve ever seen.”
In the middle of the chaos, Burguan was keeping the media updated with the latest developments.
He was also speaking to the nation during those news conferences, which was already focused on the possibility the rampage was a terrorist attack.
At that point, he didn’t realize how important his words were outside of San Bernardino.
“I wasn’t terribly concerned as I was out there talking as to what the international implications may have been,” Burguan recalls.
The chief has been widely praised for his handling of the crisis.
We asked if it’s been possible for his department to return to normal after what happened.
He says, “Everybody from the officer involved, to the victims involved, to the people of this community, every time you have an incident like this, it will change you and it’ll have a lasting impact on your life, and you’ll never forget.”
The planning for a permanent memorial is underway in San Bernardino.
