Officer Shot, Killed Unarmed Homeless Man

Santa Ana police confirmed Wednesday that an officer shot and killed an unarmed 22-year-old homeless man after a short foot pursuit at a shopping center 24 hours ago.

Hans Kevin Arellano was shot once in the chest when he got into a confrontation with a female 13-year veteran officer in a juice shop parking lot near South Harbor Boulevard and McFadden Avenue, according to Santa Ana interim Police Chief Carlos Rojas.

When asked why the officer didn’t Taser the suspect, Rojas said, “Could the officer have had other options? There’s always a lot of different options you have in these situations. It really comes down to the mindset of the officer at that time and what threat they may have been facing.”

“Why would they pull out a gun instead of Tasering him? Why couldn’t they Taser him? He was only 22 years old. He acted not even his age. He acted like a 10-year-old,” a woman said.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013...-shot-killed-unarmed-homeless-man/?hpt=ju_bn6

D.A.: Fatal police shooting outside juice shop was not a crime

A Santa Ana police officer who fatally shot a man during a confrontation outside a juice shop in July 2013 likely believed her own life was in danger, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

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“It is our legal opinion that we do not have the sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Guidry committed a crime when she shot and killed Arellano on July 30, 2013,” investigators said.

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bluesneakers said:

D.A.: Fatal police shooting outside juice shop was not a crime

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She found Arellano on the sidewalk of South Harbor Boulevard, and when he saw her, he began to run through traffic in the shopping complex’s parking lot to the doorway of a juice shop.

Guidry drew her handgun as she was about seven feet away from Arellano, investigators said, and he moved toward her. When she told him to stop and show his hands, he responded again with obscenities and told her to shoot. She backed up, and he continued to approach her with an “aggressive demeanor,” investigators said. Guidry feared he would overpower her and grab the gun, she told investigators. When he was about three feet from her, she shot him once in the upper chest. Paramedics pronounced him dead when they arrived minutes later.

According to a witness who was in the juice shop at the time, Arellano put his hands up, then down again as he interacted with the officer. As he exited, he was smiling and laughing — being a “smart *advertiser censored*,” the witness said. He lunged at the officer as he stepped out of the shop, the witness added, possibly to try to intimidate her.

Given the statements of the officers, the witness and several videos of the shooting, a jury would likely find that Guidry reasonably believed her life was in danger from Arellano, the District Attorney’s investigation concluded.



Here is what I don't understand. If someone is being arrested, and they lunge at an officer, who is 3 feet away, holding a gun, what is the cop supposed to do?

Are they supposed to willingly get into a wrestling match over a loaded weapon?

The way our laws are written right now, officers are allowed to meet that kind of aggression with lethal force. And I don't see any other way for it to work. No one is going to want to work on the streets if they are expected to go hand to hand combat every time they are assaulted.