Police Shooting Of Newark Man Questioned By Experts: Report

DANVILLE, CA — A Danville police officer's fatal shooting of a Newark man in 2018 was unjustified, according to four of six police use-of-force experts interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The four experts were also alarmed to hear that an internal investigation by the Contra Costa County sheriff's office found no policy violations were committed in the confrontation that led to the death of Laudemer Atienza Arboleda, 33, the Chronicle reported.

A sheriff's office spokesperson did not respond to Patch's request for comment sent Tuesday.

The special report, published last week, included an array of dashboard camera and body-worn camera footage that showed Officer Andrew Hall — who shot and killed Arboleda while he was driving a car — stepped into the vehicle's path before opening fire, the Chronicle reported.

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.

Many criminal justice reform advocates have called on police departments to ban the practice of shooting at moving cars, as a disabled driver could be a threat to bystanders. The suggested change is one of eight police use-of-force reform priorities laid out in the #8cantwait campaign that gained traction after the death of George Floyd.

The incident at the center of the Chronicle's investigation began about 11 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2018. The Danville Police Department responded to a report of a suspicious person near Cottage Lane and Laurel Drive, next to Interstate Highway 680 near downtown. A caller reported seeing a man exit his car, walk toward several homes in the area with bags in his hands, go back to his car and circle the neighborhood, police said at the time.

Arboleda wanted to move out of his family's condo and sought to find the property manager for help but apparently had the wrong address and did not explain this to perplexed neighbors, the Chronicle reported.

Police pulled up to the scene as Arboleda drove off and reportedly ignored an officer's commands to stop. A slow-speed, seven-minute pursuit ensued through the city, according to police and the Chronicle.

Arboleda drove a few blocks to the intersection of Front Street and Diablo Road when two police cars tried to block him from entering the intersection, 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.

Arboleda was taken to the San Ramon Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Read the full investigation at the San Francisco Chronicle.

— Patch editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report