California Officer Charged for 2018 Deadly Shooting of Unarmed Man
Written by SOURCE on April 22, 2021
Danville police officer Andrew Hall has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault in the 2018 fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced Wednesday, per KTVU.
“Officer Hall used unreasonable and unnecessary force when he responded to the in-progress traffic pursuit,” Becton said after reviewing dashcam footage as part of an investigation into Arboleda’s death that took over two years to complete. Becton explained that the delay was due to a “backlog of prior law enforcement involved fatal incidents my office is investigating.”
Hall, who was a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy at the time, fired nine shots at Arboleda through his windshield at the conclusion of a police chase. Arboleda was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Those who knew Arboleda called him quiet, while police may have been aware that he had been dealing with mental illness.
Hall is currently on administrative leave for the fatal shooting of Tyrell Wilson last month, CBS SF Bay Area reports. Bodycam footage shows Hall confronting Wilson for jaywalking. Their interaction escalated rather quickly once Wilson was seen brandishing a knife.
“Don’t touch me or you’ll see what’s up,” Wilson told Hall, who responded by pointing his firearm and ordered him to drop the knife. Wilson’s demeanor soon changed, dropping the knife by his side, and asking Hall to “kill me.” Hall fired a single round and killed Wilson.
A $220,000 warrant is out for Hall’s arrest. As of Wednesday night, Hall hasn’t been taken into custody, but he’s scheduled to be arraigned in court at a later date.
