The Fresno police officer who fatally shot an unarmed driver did so after the man suddenly reached toward the floor of his SUV as if for a gun, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.
On Thursday, Dyer provided new details about Tuesday's fatal shooting of 32-year-old Steven Anthony Vargas in central Fresno, and Wednesday's fatal shooting of John Cooper, 38, in northwest Fresno.
Cooper, who appeared to be suicidal, was killed after he pointed a replica handgun at two officers. On Thursday, Dyer said Cooper was the brother of Daniel Cooper, 45, whose naked, decomposed body was found Oct. 20 along the San Joaquin River. It's unclear whether Wednesday's incident is related to the brother's death.
Detectives have talked to John Cooper's father, who does not blame officers in the shooting, Dyer said. The chief expressed his condolences to Cooper's family and to the officers involved in the shooting.
Tuesday's shooting happened after Vargas drove east in westbound lanes of McKinley Avenue and crashed into a vehicle in front of a house on the 4000 block of McKinley.
Investigators examine the body of a man killed when he was shot by Fresno police Wednesday in a neighborhood near Shaw and Marks avenues in Fresno.
Dyer said the officer, a veteran sergeant, had been flagged down by witnesses, who told him that Vargas had a gun. One person told the sergeant that Vargas appeared intoxicated on the drug PCP, Dyer said.
The sergeant approached Vargas' SUV and ordered him to "show his hands," Dyer said. Vargas, who at one point had his hands on the steering wheel, then reached down to the floor of the SUV.
"It was at that time that the officer felt that [Vargas] was retrieving a handgun, which he had been told [Vargas] had," Dyer said. "He felt his life was in danger and fired his weapon at the suspect."
The Fresno County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating because the shooting occurred in a county island, found no weapon in the vehicle.
The Fresno County Coroner's Office concluded that Vargas died from multiple gunshot wounds. Deputy Coroner Jeff Gentry said he didn't know how many bullets entered Vargas' body.
Dyer said the shooting was especially troubling because no gun was found.
"I have concerns any time officers are involved in a shooting," he said. "That concern is elevated when we learn later that the individual who was shot did not have a gun. ... All I can say to the family is I am sorry for their loss. I'm also sorry the sergeant had to take [Vargas'] life."
The sergeant has not been identified.
Dyer said Fresno police receive more training than the state requires. The city's commitment to training is reflected in its $15 million investment in a Regional Training Center, set to open next summer, Dyer said.
Police Chief Dyer talks Oct. 29 about the shooting
Oct. 28 news conference on officer-involved shooting
"Training is absolutely critical -- not just for the protection of our officers, but for our citizens," he said.
While officers are given the best possible training, equipment and supervision, they still must make "split-second decisions whether or not to use deadly force," Dyer said.
"Our human nature is to not pull the trigger," he said. "And our officers, if they do pull the trigger, have to live with that decision for the rest of their life."
The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training requires officers to receive a minimum of 24 hours of training every two years.
Fresno requires officers to receive a minimum of 40 hours every two years, including 10 hours related to use of force, said Lt. Tom Laband, the department's training commander.
In police academies, trainees receive a minimum of 12 hours of training on use of force, said Bob Stresak, spokesman for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Trainees learn what the law says about using force, and a range of options for responding to threatening situations, from verbal commands to deadly force, he said.
"There's no formula" about when to use deadly force, he said. "Each incident is driven by individual circumstances."
Richard Lindstrom, director of the Fresno City College Police Academy, agreed.
"There's a million different scenarios an officer will face, and it's a split-second decision to make," he said.
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Man shot by Fresno sergeant likely not armed
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