Former San Diego sheriff’s deputy convicted of civil rights violation in fatal 2020 shooting

A federal jury on Tuesday convicted former San Diego County sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Richard Russell of a civil rights violation for the 2020 shooting death of Nicholas Bils, who was unarmed and running away from law enforcement officers outside the downtown jail when Russell shot him several times, including at least once in the back.

Russell, 29, was charged with depriving Bils of his rights under color of law and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The jury convicted him on both counts.

The jury deliberated for just a day before returning its verdict in what was Russell’s second trial; jurors last year deliberated for parts of six days before they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the same charges, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial.

Russell is the second former local deputy in the past three months to be convicted of a civil rights violation in U.S. District Court. In December, a San Diego federal jury convicted former Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores on the same charge of deprivation of rights under the color of law, as well as a count of falsifyi...