Fresno cop won’t face charges in killing of man with replica gun, CA DOJ says. Here’s why
A Fresno police officer who shot and killed Austin Flores as he held what turned out to be a replica gun won’t face charges, according to a California Department of Justice report released Wednesday.
The state DOJ also gave no recommendations to the Fresno Police Department related to training or policies for the May 19, 2022, killing of Flores, who was pointing an “imitation or replica firearm” incapable of firing a round at officers when he was shot, the report says.
“Taking into account the totality of circumstances involved in this incident, it was not unreasonable for Corporal (Christopher) Cooper to believe that Mr. Flores aimed what appeared to be an operable firearm directly at him and to respond with deadly force,” the report concluded.
The Fresno Police Department declined to comment on the report on Wednesday.
Under Assembly Bill 1506, the DOJ investigates any fatal shootings by police in which the person killed was not armed.
Police were called about 11:17 a.m. on the day of the shooting by Flores’s mother. He was in violation of a restraining order while at a family home near Crystal Avenue and Fountain Way, the report said.
The mother told police she believed her 27-year-old son was drunk or high. The DOJ report said his autopsy found ethyl alcohol, methamphetamine and opiates, fentanyl, and Citalopram, a prescription drug.
The DOJ report said police got conflicting information of whether Flores had a gun from the mother and grandmother, who was also at the house. They told police at different moments that the gun appeared real and other times that it was fake or a toy.
Video shows officers arrive to find Flores in the backseat of a car parked behind an open gate on the side of the house. Flores stepped out of the car and officers began to yell commands as he appeared to be holding the replica as one would hold a real gun.
Cpl. Christopher Cooper fired nine rounds in under three seconds, striking Flores five times. He was hit once each in the chest, abdomen, back, buttocks and back of the elbow, the report says.
Flores fell by the time the third round was fired, turning his back and falling as the other six rounds rang out, the report says.
Flores was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. at a local hospital, the report said.
“The body worn camera footage demonstrates numerous efforts to verbally de-escalate the situation before resorting to the use of force when Mr. Flores charged towards one of the officers with a firearm,” the report says.
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This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 4:37 PM.
