Salinas Police Chief Dan Ortega announced today that he has fired a police officer, who mistakenly thought he was shot and opened fire on two unarmed people after a Feb. 3 traffic stop.

Officers Christopher Swanson and Steve Mattocks shot at Adriana Velasquez and Julio Hernandez after Swanson fell to the ground and yelled he had been shot. Ortega said there was no evidence that Swanson was hit and the two occupants did nothing unlawful and were fully cooperating.

“It appears that we are in error here,” Ortega said.

Swanson pulled over Velasquez at about 11:30 p.m. for a broken license plate light at North Sanborn Road and Freedom Parkway.

Swanson, 36, had been with the department less than a year and was still under probation, though he worked for a department in Texas for five years before coming to Salinas. He had also been in the Marines for 14 years and served two tours in Iraq.

Mattocks, a 24-year-old officer who has been a sworn officer for more than two years, is the same officer who shot and killed Maria Irma De la Torre in July.

De la Torre, an epileptic, had just had a seizure when officers responded to a 911 call. Police say De la Torre lunged at Mattocks and Officer Robert Balaoro with what appeared to be a knife or an ice pick. It turned out to be a crochet hook. Mattocks shot De la Torre in the back and Balaoro Tased her.

The officers, city and Ortega are being sued by De la Torre’s family in federal court for the use of unlawful deadly force.

Ortega said the department’s investigation found that there was no wrongdoing in the De la Torre shooting and Mattocks was sent back on patrol. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is still investigating whether the officers are criminally liable.

Ortega also defended Mattocks’ actions in the Feb. 3 shooting, saying he fired his weapon after he saw Swanson fall to ground and yell: “I’ve been shot.” “Officer Mattocks acted appropriately and within policy, according to his training and given the totality of the circumstances,” he said.

Crescencio Padilla, a member of the League of the United American Citizens who has investigated past officer-involved shootings, said the department should take Mattocks off patrol. “In my opinion he is trigger happy,” Padilla said.

Ortega said Mattocks remains on administrative leave and the department is considering whether to give him a new assignment. The case will be forwarded to District Attorney’s Office for review on Monday.