OAKLAND, CA – The California Department of Justice (DOJ) last week released a report by California Attorney General Rob Bonta finding it won’t take any further action in an officer -involved shooting of Marcos Maldonado in Los Angeles on July 27, 2022.
The DOJ report provided an analysis of the incident, noting the “DOJ concluded that criminal charges were not appropriate in this case.”
Attorney General Bonta stated, “The loss of life is always heartbreaking,” and claimed to “recognize the considerable challenges and difficulties faced by all those impacted, including Mr. Maldonado’s family, the law enforcement agencies involved, and the community at large.”
Bonta added, “The California Department of Justice is dedicated to collaborating with all law enforcement entities to maintain a legal system that is fair, transparent, and accountable to every Californian.”
The DOJ recounted how LAPD officers answered a call for service that described a “man with a gun walking down the street.” Upon finding the man, later identified as Marcos Maldonado, the officers “saw that he was holding what appeared to be a gun.”
The DOJ added officers “ordered Mr. Maldonado to drop the gun, but he did not comply,” after which “Mr. Maldonado pointed the gun at the officers.” In response, the officers “fired their own guns, killing Mr. Maldonado.”
The DOJ admitted, “The gun pointed by Mr. Maldonado at law enforcement was later determined to be a replica airsoft handgun.”
The Assembly Bill 1506 requires the DOJ to investigate all officer-involved shootings that lead to the death of an unarmed civilian in the state, according to the DOJ report.
The agency said the DOJ conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and “concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officers involved acted without the intent to defend themselves and others from what each of them reasonably believed to be the imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury.”
Given this, the DOJ added, “there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution of the officers. As such, no further action will be taken in this case.”
The DOJ highlighted policy recommendations which it believes “will help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
The first such recommendation calls attention to “officer communication,” noting LAPD should “amend their policies and training regarding communication of significant contextual information impacting responding officers’ use of force decision-making as articulated in their other policies to include additional information.”
The second recommendation cited in the DOJ report is “scene control,” which asks the LAPD to “evaluate their policies and training regarding perimeter control.”
According to the DOJ report, the presence of bystanders “close to Mr. Maldonado and between Mr. Maldonado and the LAPD officers” was a significant concern in this incident, limiting officer’s options and creating additional dangers.
The third recommendation in the DOJ report related to LAPD use of force policy. The report described how Government Code section 7286, enacted by Senate Bill 230, sets the minimum standards for use of force policies that California law enforcement agencies maintain.
A link to the full DOJ report can be found here.
