Reviewer recommends body cameras for more officers after police shooting of unarmed teen
In examining a Fresno Police Department officer-involved shooting last April that left a 16-year-old boy dead, the city's Office of Independent Review recommended more officers be equipped with body cameras and Tasers.
The reviewer also says that special units should have a written plan for serving warrants on homicide suspects before any action is taken.
The Office of Independent Review found the shooting of Isiah Murrietta-Golding was "within policy" but said "several administrative and operational issues with this incident warranted recommendations."
They include providing special police units with less-than-lethal devices, such as Tasers; issuing body cameras to those units; amending department policy so a tactical operation plan is required whenever serving warrants on people suspected of homicide ; making briefing attendance mandatory for such operations, unless an absence is approved by a supervisor; discussing field of fire for discharging weapons; and more.
The report released this week summarized the office's work in early 2018. The independent reviewer found all three of the officer-involved shooting investigations it looked at were within policy. Police department internal affairs cases also were reviewed by the independent reviewer. In total, 12 recommendations were made, and the independent reviewer noted the police department shares interest in in improving its operations.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said he agreed with the recommendations, and some will be fulfilled.
The independent reviewer works to strengthen trust between the community and Fresno police by providing a neutral, third-party review of police policies, procedures, strategies and internal affairs investigations. The Office of Independent Review issues four annual reports on citizen complaints, department complaints, officer-involved shootings and more.
The independent reviewer, John A. Gliatta, is a former FBI agent who investigated special agent-involved shootings. He previously worked for the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.
One of the cases reviewed was the shooting death of 16-year-old Isiah Murrietta-Golding on April 15, 2017. Police said the teen was a suspect in a shooting death the day before. When officers stopped a car Murrietta-Golding was in, he first complied with officers' commands, but then fled on foot. He was shot while jumping a fence after officers said he reached for his waistband multiple times. Later, officers determined he had no weapon.
Police have video of the chase, but the officer who fired his weapon, Sgt. Ray Villalvazo, a supervisor with the department's Street Violence Bureau Tactical Team, did not have a body camera.
Dyer said an internal affairs investigation concluded the shooting was "within policy." The city's independent reviewer came to the same conclusion.
The Street Violence Bureau team involved in the investigation is a plainclothes unit that primarily performs surveillance and seeks out wanted suspects. It typically calls in patrol units for backup when making arrests, Dyer said. The team often responds spontaneously and quickly to tips from Crime Stoppers. At times, the officers respond from home and can develop a plan through a teleconference, if time permits. In this case, an officer was called in on his day off and did not attend a briefing.
Department policy calls on officers to complete a tactical operations plan for search warrants. The independent reviewer noted in this case, a tactical operations plan was not prepared. It also wasn't mandatory for all officers involved to attend a briefing. The report recommended requiring a written tactical operations plan for similar operations and those involving arrest warrants. The written plan would come in handy if officers aren't able to attend a briefing in person as well.
Dyer said a tactical operation plan for a search warrant at the home would've been made after the traffic stop.
In his report, Gliatta recommended the tactical team be outfitted with body cameras and Tasers.
Dyer said the team has two Tasers, and Villalvazo previously was issued one in a former assignment. The Taser was taken from Villalvazo and given to someone else because of financial restraints. He was not issued another when he was reassigned.
While chasing Murrietta-Golding, a Taser wouldn't have been effective anyway, Dyer said, because the teen was too far away to deploy such a device.
Currently, about 80 percent of the police force — 453 officers — is equipped with body cameras. Field personnel, such as patrol officers, FAX officers, traffic officers and student resource officers were given cameras first since they are working enforcement. By mid-to-late summer, the department will receive an additional 85 body cameras. Some of those will be given to the Street Violence Bureau tactical team, Dyer said.
In this case, the Street Violence Bureau hoped to reduce the risk to neighbors and the community by serving a search warrant on Murrietta-Golding and his brother after they left a residence where investigators first spotted them. Since the teens were wanted in a shooting death, police believed they could've been armed.
Because of the risk, SWAT was made aware of the operation and was on standby, Dyer said.
The police department will modify its policy to ensure reports and search warrants describe a risk and threat assessment consultation between an officer and SWAT supervisor and explain decision making, Dyer said.
The report also said that during briefing, stress should be put on field of fire when discharging a weapon. In this case, Villalvazo fired his weapon toward the rear of a day care. "The adjacent open area was clearly not occupied at the time but an errant round could have entered the building where it was unknown if people were present," the report said.
Dyer said Villalvazo demonstrated "extreme discipline and controlled fire" since he only discharged one shot.
Gliatta noted in his report that even with compliance of the recommendations, "the justified actions of the officer would unfortunately not have changed (the outcome).
"Ultimately the suspect elected to make the decision to run from a traffic stop instead of complying with the officer's instructions, which then resulted in an OIS," the report said.
This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Reviewer recommends body cameras for more officers after police shooting of unarmed teen."