SAN DIEGO -- Local prosecutors on Tuesday charged a San Diego police officer with a felony for shooting a woman and her young son during a March road-rage clash in Oceanside, a rare filing of criminal charges against an officer after a shooting.

The case appears to be only the third time in 25 years that the San Diego County district attorney's office has charged an officer for firing his weapon during a confrontation with a suspect.

On Tuesday, San Diego police Officer Franklin James White, 28, pleaded not guilty in a Vista courtroom to one felony count of negligent discharge of a firearm and wounding 8-year-old Johnny Silva and his mother, Rachel Leann Silva.

White also pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he brandished his gun during a confrontation after a near-crash on a busy street.

The charges carry a potential prison sentence of nine years.

"Based on the evidence and the law, these charges are appropriate," San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Tuesday during a noon press conference in downtown San Diego.

Ninety minutes later, White appeared before a judge in a Vista courtroom. Dressed in a dark suit with a crisp white shirt and dark tie, White stood expressionless with his hands clasped in front of his body during his brief hearing.

White, an Oceanside resident, is free on his own recognizance, which means he does not have to post bail. He is slated to be booked into jail on Saturday, then immediately released. The case is due back in court for a short proceeding Aug. 26, and a preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 17.

Clutching his wife's hand after the hearing, White left the courtroom hounded by cameras and reporters. He did not respond to questions, but his attorney offered a short statement.

"Based on the information available to us, we don't believe that there is any support for the conclusion that our client's conduct was unreasonable under the circumstances," said attorney Richard Pinckard, as he walked his client out of the courthouse.

White is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, San Diego police Chief William Landsdowne said Tuesday.

The chief said the internal review of the incident could take from 30 to 90 days. In the meantime, White has been stripped of his police powers, Landsdowne said.

White is not the only one to face charges in the March 15 nighttime clash in a shopping center on Old Grove Road not far south of Highway 76.

The woman he shot, Rachel Leann Silva, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to felony child endangerment and a spate of misdemeanors, including drunken driving. Authorities said her blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit for driving in California. They also have said she was in possession of marijuana.

If convicted of the felony, Silva faces up to six years in prison. Silva remains free on the condition that she stay in the long-term drug rehabilitation facility she recently entered.

Witnesses said the incident began shortly after 9 p.m. as Silva pulled out of a McDonald's parking lot and into White's lane on Old Grove Road. White swerved to avoid Silva's car. Soon after, she tailgated the off-duty officer as he pulled into a shopping center, revving her engine and finally blocking his car, clipping the side-view mirror and then striking the back end of his vehicle.

White then fired five bullets through his front driver's-side window, striking Silva's car, according to witness reports. He reportedly identified himself as a police officer before shooting.

Investigators have said White told them he fired because he feared for his safety and that of his wife, who was in the car with him.

Silva was hit twice in her right arm. Her son, Johnny Silva, who was in the front passenger seat of her car, was hit once in his left leg.

Gene Iredale, the child's attorney in a civil suit against the city of San Diego and White, said he was surprised that prosecutors criminally charged White.

"For me, there were two earthquakes on Tuesday," Iredale said. "The first one shook the ground. The second earthquake was that, instead of my cynical view of the world being confirmed, I was shown another view by Ms. Dumanis."

While he said the district attorney is to be commended for filing charges against the officer, Iredale added that he thought tougher charges, such as attempted murder, could have been leveled.

Michael Pancer, who represents Silva in her criminal case, said he was not surprised by the decision to charge White. But the attorney said he believes doing so was not easy for a district attorney who must work daily with law enforcement to build criminal cases.

"They depend on law enforcement to help make cases, and it's a simple reality that they (the district attorney's office) need to nurture a good relationship," Pancer said.

Pancer said he did not think the charges filed against White would necessarily help Silva in her own criminal case.

The decision to charge the officer was met with support from Oceanside police Chief Frank McCoy, whose department handled the initial investigation into the shooting.

"It's a hard call to make," McCoy said. "And I know that it wasn't an easy decision for the DA's office in this case."

Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood, a retired police detective, said he was "a little surprised" at the charges, but added that he didn't have enough information to judge Dumanis' decision.

Bringing charges against officers for shootings is a rare move, and Dumanis has been criticized for not charging officers since taking office in 2003.

In December, Dumanis' office released a report noting that from January 1996 to the end of 2006, there were 200 incidents in which law enforcement agents -- on-duty and off -- opened fire on suspects in San Diego County.

None of the officers was charged with criminal wrongdoing for shooting suspects. However, prosecutors did charge a sheriff's deputy in 2006 for fatally shooting his wife in their Alpine home.

The last time county prosecutors charged an officer for an on-duty shooting was 1995, when then-San Diego police Officer Christopher Chaney shot a fleeing suspect in the arm in San Diego.

Chaney was charged with assault with a deadly weapon; a jury acquitted him after only a few minutes of deliberations.

And in 1983, then-Escondido police Officer David DeLange shot and killed a bank robber's hostage during a shootout on South Upas Street.

A year later, a jury found DeLange not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Leslie Landersman, who was killed by a blast from DeLange's shotgun. Her abductor, Timothy Harding, 35, also was killed in the police shootout.

Shootings by off-duty officers hit North County headlines in 2006, when Coronado police Officer Aaron Mansker shot then-Chargers linebacker Steve Foley in Poway.

Mansker was not charged with criminal wrongdoing. However, Foley sued Mansker and the city of Coronado. The ex-player agreed to a $5.5 million midtrial settlement last month.

Staff writers Paul Sisson and Craig TenBroeck contributed to this report. Contact Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.