The lawyer for the family of Joe Edwin Bowles, 25, of Tulare, who was shot and killed last month by a Porterville police detective working an anti-auto theft detail in Tulare, released details about the shooting at a news conference Friday in Tulare.
Lawyer Brian Claypool of Pasadena said Bowles was walking out of either Evolutions gym or Chili's restaurant in Tulare when he was confronted by two plainclothes officers. No physical confrontation took place, but one officer opened fire from 8 to 15 feet away, he said.
Claypool said Bowles had been across the street in the Wal-Mart parking lot and that officers followed him to the Evolutions parking lot. Claypool said Bowles might have gone inside a business to use a restroom, and officers lacked probable cause to stop him.
Bowles was unarmed and did not have a weapon, the attorney said. At one point, he said, Bowles turned around and said to one of the officers, "Why are you screwing with me?"
Claypool said three Tulare police representatives met with Bowles' family to answer questions about the shooting.
Tulare police had reported earlier that Bowles was seen apparently tampering with parked cars. He ran when officers approached him, police said. The officer-involved shooting took place around 9 p.m. Oct. 20.
There was a confrontation but no struggle, Tulare police Capt. Jerry Breckenridge said Friday. Details of the confrontation are not being made public, he said. The officers identified themselves and Bowles never entered a building, he said.
Porterville police identified the officer who shot Bowles as detective Chris McGuire, a nine-year veteran who has since returned to duty after being cleared by a Porterville police investigation.
Claypool said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against McGuire and the Porterville Police Department and sue for wrongful death in Tulare County Superior Court.
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