District Attorney Carla Rodriguez will not file criminal charges against the deputy officer who shot and killed a man July 29 after a foot chase through rugged terrain outside of Healdsburg.
Two officers responding to reports of a stranger menacing random households tracked down David Pelaez-Chavez, 36, who had stolen a truck and crashed though a fence before running away. Pelaez-Chavez was not armed, but threatened to throw large rocks at the deputies, one of whom shot him. That action was found to be in self defense.
As per protocol for officer-related shootings, the incident was investigated by an outside agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police Department. It’s formal review was then submitted to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office to evaluate the appropriateness of any potential criminal charges.
The DA declined to press any charges, stating: “The accounting for the totality of circumstances related to this incident, legal standards applicable to the filing of criminal charges, justifiable uses of force by peace officers, and the opinions of an independent expert, the District Attorney has concluded that criminal charges are not warranted for any law enforcement personnel related to the officer-involved shooting of David Pelaez-Chavez.”
The District Attorney’s full report related is posted here.
So apparently I could have legally killed the kids that used to throw rocks at me in middle school????
There is so much I could say but I’m dumbfounded that a man threatening to throw large rocks left them no other choice but to kill him, provided it was a kill shot and not some weird thing like getting shot in the foot and bleeding to death.