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Officer in central Fresno shooting identified

Published online on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

The Fresno Bee
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Fresno police on Tuesday released the name of the officer who fatally shot 32-year-old Steven Anthony Vargas last week in central Fresno.

Sgt. Mike Palomino, a 28-year veteran with 25 years on the SWAT team, shot Vargas on Oct. 27 after witnesses said he had a gun and appeared intoxicated and on drugs.

Police said Vargas was driving east in the westbound lanes of McKinley Avenue and crashed his SUV into a car parked in front of a house.

Palomino ordered Vargas to "show his hands," but when he reached down to the floor of the SUV, Palomino shot him, Fresno police have said. Authorities found no weapon in the vehicle.

Palomino has been involved in at least one other shooting. He was one of six Fresno police officers involved in the fatal shooting of an intoxicated 18-year-old man on New Year's Day 1985. The man, who was under the influence of alcohol and PCP, was shot after he pointed a gun at officers. The officers were cleared of wrongdoing by a department investigation and an inquest by the Fresno County Coroner's Office.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Department is investigating last week's shooting because it occurred in a county island.


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