One of Their Own

KPBS’s The Finest podcast explores the people, art, and movements that are redefining culture in San Diego. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts, or on  kpbs.org/thefinest . This episode tells the story of three friends growing up in San Diego’s Paradise Hills neighborhood who found purpose in graffiti art. What began as a creative path away from gang life eventually drew attention fro...

Eight years into the family’s fight for transparency and accountability, a new law went into effect. It might have changed everything for Ciara’s case.

Even though both Ciara and her boyfriend were San Diego Police officers, the department didn’t call an outside agency to investigate her death. And its own investigators almost immediately called it a suicide. Her family thinks they didn’t dig deep enough.

On her last night alive, Ciara went to a New Year’s Eve party with Eric. Photos taken at 10 p.m. show a smiling couple. She died just hours later. What happened?

Ciara’s family blames her death on her relationship with her boyfriend, who was also a San Diego Police officer. What is the line between an unhealthy relationship and an abusive one? Do police departments have a responsibility to address toxic relationships within their ranks, even when they leave no marks?

A San Diego Police officer went viral in 2016 for being “Finally, a NICE cop.” A video of her talking respectfully to a panhandler received more attention than her sudden and complicated death less than two years later. But who was Ciara Estrada? EDITORS' NOTE: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated which of Ciara Estrada’s guns was in her lap when police found her dead.

When a police officer is found dead in her home with a bullet between her eyes, who investigates? Both Ciara Estrada and her boyfriend were San Diego police officers. They went with friends to a New Year’s Eve party. Pictures from that night show the smiling couple. The next day, Ciara was dead … discovered on her bathroom floor with her gun in her lap. Her own department investigated the dea...