Danville Cop Who Shot Man Last Week Linked To Fatal 2018 Shooting

DANVILLE, CA — The Danville police officer involved in last week's shooting was the same man who pulled the trigger in a fatal 2018 shooting for which he was cleared but that was nevertheless questioned by some police use-of-force experts.

Officer Andrew Hall was placed on paid leave per department policy after he shot a man who pulled a knife on him on Thursday, according to the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff.

Hall responded to reports that Tyrell Wilson, a 32-year-old homeless man, was throwing rocks off the Sycamore Valley Road overpass, according to the sheriff's department. The sheriff's office alleged that Wilson pulled a folding knife and approached Hall, who fired once and struck him. Wilson was in the hospital in critical condition as of this weekend.

Hall was also involved in a 2018 Danville shooting that left Laudemer Atienza Arboleda, 33, of Newark dead on the heels of a brief slow-speed pursuit.

That shooting was the subject of a San Francisco Chronicle investigation published last month. Hall was cleared of wrongdoing, but four of six police use-of-force experts interviewed by the Chronicle felt Hall was not justified in firing his weapon.

They were also alarmed to hear that an internal investigation by the county sheriff's office found no policy violations were committed in the confrontation that led to Arboleda's death. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office bans shooting at or from a moving car unless it's to defend someone's life, the newspaper reported.

The sheriff's office did not respond to Patch's previous request for comment on this matter. Patch reached out to Hall for comment.

The shooting happened after Danville police responded to a report of a suspicious person on Nov. 3, 2018, near Cottage Lane and Laurel Drive, next to Interstate Highway 680 near downtown. Arboleda drove off and reportedly ignored an officer's commands to stop, and a slow-speed, seven-minute pursuit ensued through the city, according to police and the Chronicle.

Two police cars tried to block Arboleda at the intersection of Front Street and Diablo Road, according to police and dashcam footage obtained by the Chronicle. Arboleda began to drive toward a gap between the two cars when Hall stepped out of his car, gun drawn, and fired at Arboleda, the paper reported. Hall said he fired because he feared for his life.

The investigation into Thursday's shooting is ongoing. It is led by the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the county district attorney's office.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.

See also:

• Man Shot By Danville Police Identified
• Danville Officer Shoots Man Who Pulled Knife On Cop
• Danville Police Shooting Questioned By Experts: Report