Vista

A sheriff’s deputy shot an unidentified man to death Friday after a traffic stop in Vista turned into a foot chase and a struggle, authorities said.

Deputy William Anderson shot the man in the body about 4 a.m. after the man overpowered him and nearly choked him unconscious, said Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Bob Trevino. The name of the dead man was being withheld until his family was notified.

Trevino said that Anderson, a four-year veteran of the department’s Vista substation, fired the shot as a last resort.

Anderson pulled the man over about 3:50 a.m. in the 300 block of Hillside Terrace because he suspected he was drunk, Trevino said.

After the man stepped out of his car, he began running, and Anderson gave chase, Trevino said. The two ended up in a yard down the street, where the fight broke out.

Anderson, who was on the ground with the man straddling and choking him, believed he was on the verge of passing out when he pulled out his handgun and fired the fatal shot, Trevino said.

The man was transferred to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, where he was pronounced dead, Trevino said.

Deputies found the man to have a small amount of narcotics and drug paraphernalia in his possession, Trevino said.

Anderson has been placed on administrative leave, and the shooting is under investigation by the sheriff’s homicide detail.