The California Department of Justice will investigate the July 21 fatal shooting by the Simi Valley Police Department.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a news release that the justice department will look into the incident under provisions of Assembly Bill 1506. The law requires the agency to investigate all fatal shootings of unarmed civilians by law enforcement officers in the state.
The shooting that killed the 37-year-old man was the Simi department’s only fatal incident this year.
Multiple messages left with Simi police seeking comments on the state’s action were not immediately returned.
Simi Valley police officers arrived to the 2500 block of Dusan Street around 1:45 p.m. after the man was seen and followed from the Simi Valley Town Center. He had returned to the neighborhood where he’d been involved in an earlier domestic violence incident, said Cmdr. Daniel Frates.
Police officers were originally called to the neighborhood around 8:15 a.m. on a report of domestic violence, but the man had already left, the commander said.
The Simi Valley resident was shot by multiple police officers when he returned to Dusan Street that afternoon. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man was reported to have a gun, Simi police said in a news release about the shooting. However, Simi Valley police have not said whether the man had a gun with him at the time he was shot.
Before the man left the home earlier that day, he allegedly said he would “shoot it out” with officers if they were called, according to police.
No officers were injured in the incident. A police motorcycle was struck but was unoccupied at the time of the crash, said Simi officer Casey Nicholson.
The Simi Police Department is investigating the shooting and taking statements from six officers directly involved, Nicholson said. It is unclear how many officers fired their guns and struck the man. All involved officers were to be placed on administrative leave, officials have said.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating.
When the state justice department’s investigation is completed, it will be turned over to the agency’s special prosecutions section within the criminal law unit for independent review, officials said. Anyone with information on the incident should call 916-210-2871.
Simi Valley police had another shooting by an officer earlier this month although it was not fatal. A man was shot by an officer July 2 while at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.
The man, 46, was taken into custody earlier in the day following a domestic violence call to his Simi Valley home. He was being treated at the hospital when he was shot.
After his hospital stay, the man was eventually booked into Ventura County jail on suspicion of felony attempted murder and corporal injury of a spouse, according to jail records. He is being held on $510,000 bail and has a Ventura County Superior Court hearing scheduled on Aug. 12, records show.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Fatal Simi police shooting prompts state Department of Justice review
Reporting by Staff reports, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Staff reports, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
