JESUS RODRIGUEZ OFFICE OF

ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY San Diego
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY ssowestBroagway
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 

sandiegodacom

BONNIE M. DUMANIS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY

January 9, 2017

Chief Jeff Davis

El Cajon Police Department
100 Civic Center Way

El Cajon, CA 92020

Re: Fatal shooting of Mr. Alfred Okwera Olango on September 27, 2016
by El Cajon Police Of?cer Richard A. Gonsalves; El Cajon Police Department
Case NO. 16-008453; DA Special Operations Case No. 
Deputy District Attorney assigned: David Grapilon

Dear Chief Davis:

We have reviewed the reports and other materials compiled by your agency?s Homicide Unit
concerning the circumstances leading to the fatal shooting Of Mr. Alfred Olango by El Caj on
Police Of?cer Richard Gonsalves, on September 27, 2016. A District Attorney Investigator
responded to the scene and was briefed by your Of?cers. This case was presented to the District
Attorney?s Of?ce for review on October 19, 2016.

Persons Involved

Mr. Alfred Olango was 38 years Old at the time of this incident and lived in the City Of El Cajon.
Of?cer Richard Gonsalves had been a police Officer with the E1 Caj on Police Department for

21 years when this incident occurred. Gonsalves was in full uniform and was assigned tO patrol

duties.

Summary
On September 27, 2016, the El Cajon Police Department received several calls from the sister of

Mr. Alfred Olango, Lucy Olango. Ms. Olango reported her brother was behaving erratically and
requested Of?cers take Mr. Olango to a mental health facility. Ms. Olango reported Mr. Olango
left her residence and walked in and out Of the street, almost getting struck by traf?c. After a
delay Of one hour and six minutes from the initial call by Ms. Olango, Of?cer Gonsalves
reSponded and located Olango in the parking lot of a taco shop. Olango was wearing jeans and a
black tank top.

Officer Gonsalves Observed Mr. Olango kept his right hand in his right front pant pocket.
Gonsalves told Olango multiple times to remove his hand from his pocket but Olango did not.
Lucy Olango was also present and pleaded with Olango to remove his hand from his pocket, but
Olango continued to keep his hand in his pants pocket. Witness Of?cer #1 arrived and
approached from Olango?s left side with a Taser. Olango suddenly pulled a metallic Object from
his right front pant pocket and took a two-handed shooting stance while pointing the Object at
Gonsalves. Gonsalves ?red four rounds, striking Olango fatally. The metallic Object Olango

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January 9, 2016
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pointed was later discovered to be an electronic cigarette ?vaping? device with a silver
cylindrical mouthpiece.

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Mr. Olango was transported to the hospital but died in the operating room. Portions of the
incident were captured by a closed circuit surveillance camera from a nearby business and by a
witness? cell phone.

Several witnesses observed the incident. Mr. Olango was seen walking around the parking lot in
the area prior to the shooting. Olango appeared agitated. They told police Olango refused to
remove his hand from his pocket when initially ordered to. Witnesses described how Olango
suddenly removed his hand from his pocket and pointed both hands in a manner consistent with
Olango taking a shooting stance towards Officer Gonsalves. Some of the witnesses saw Olango
holding an object in his hands, but the witnesses could not tell what it was.

Background

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 27, 2016, at approximately 12:57 pm, Lucy Olango
telephoned the El Caj on Police Department (ECPD) and reported a family member named
Alfred Olango was not mentally stable. Ms. Olango asked the police to take him to a local
hospital?s mental facility. Ms. Olango provided her residence address in the City of El Cajon.
Ms. Olango repeated her brother was mentally unstable and he thought everyone was against
him. Ms. Olango said she and Mr. Olango were the only ones in the residence and Olango did
not have any weapons. Because of other police priority calls, of?cers were not immediately
dispatched.

Ms. Olango called the ECPD back at 1:44 pm. (47 minutes later). She said she previously called
and said Alfred Olango was mentally unstable and was a danger to himself because he was
walking erratically in the street. Ms. Olango gave Mr. Olango?s physical description to the
dispatcher and said Olango was running away from her and all over the street. The dispatcher
said they would help as soon as they could. There were still no ECPD units available to respond.

At 2:01 pm. (17 minutes later), Lucy Olango called the ECPD for the third time and repeated her
concerns. She gave the location of Broadway and Mollison Avenue. When Ms. Olango asked if
there was another number she should be calling, the dispatcher advised her all of?cers were on
emergency calls. The dispatcher agreed the call was important and told Ms. Olango they would

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January 9, 2016
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get there as soon as they could. (At the time, of?cers were dealing with a number of other calls,
including one with a subject possibly carrying a ri?e; another call involving a suspicious male
carrying an open knife and cutting bushes and limbs in people?s yards as he walked down the
street; a battery at local school involving twenty students; and a suspicious person who jumped
over the fence into the Boy?s Club.)

At 2:03 pm. Of?cers Gonsalves and Witness Of?cer #1 were dispatched to the call
involving Mr. Olango. The dispatcher told them to check for a "5150 subject" walking in traf?c
near Broadway and Mollison Avenue. The dispatcher did not relay the information provided by
Lucy Olango that Olango had no weapons.

Of?cer-Involved Shooting

At 2:06 Of?Cer Gonsalves saw Mr. Olango in the parking lot of a taco shop located at

777 Broadway. Olango?s right hand was concealed in the right front pocket of his pants.
Gonsalves ordered Olango to remove his hand from his pocket. Gonsalves drew his pistol and
held it in his left hand with the muzzle pointed down. Gonsalves later said he did this because he
was concerned Olango may have a weapon in his pocket. Lucy Olango stood in an area
immediately behind Gonsalves and yelled at Olango to remove his hand from his pocket. Olango
replied, ?No, no, no? to the instructions of Gonsalves and Lucy Olango. Gonsalves momentarily
shifted his attention to Ms. Olango and told her to stay back. arrived and approached
Olango with his Taser pointed at him. When Gonsalves directed his attention back to Olango,
Olango rapidly removed his right hand from his pant pocket and pointed a metallic object in that
right hand. Olango placed both his hands together, extended his arms forward, and took what is
known as ?a two-handed shooting stance? pointing directly at Gonsalves. Gonsalves and 
both said they believed Olango was holding a pistol and was going to shoot. Gonsalves ?red his
pistol and deployed his Taser. Olango fell and dropped the object on the ground. The
object was later determined to be an electronic cigarette ?vaping? device. Paramedics
transported Olango to hospital.

Statement of Civilian Witness Lucy Olango

Lucy Olango provided a limited statement to an investigator at the scene. The interview was
interrupted by one of her brothers who refused to let Ms. Olango speak further with police.
During the limited interview, she complained the of?cer could have shot Mr. Olango in the leg
or just used a Taser. Ms. Olango said she warned the of?cer Olango was mentally unstable and
she called the police to help Olango, not to kill him. She called the police three times but it took
an hour and a half for of?cers to reSpond. Olango was running into the street and was a danger to
himself and to others. He had not been diagnosed with any mental illness. Ms. Olango said this
was the ?rst time he behaved in this manner and she was afraid because Olango would not listen
or respond to her.

On December 1, 2016, Lucy Olango was interviewed by the District Attorney?s Of?ce. She
recalled waking up early the morning of the incident to Alfred Olango knocking on her door.

She let him in and went back to sleep. When she awoke a few hours later, he was still there, but
he seemed confused and scared, was sweating, paced back and forth inside the apartment, and
wanted to smoke. He told her to close the door, draw the blinds, didn?t want any bright light, said
people were after him, and was scared to go outside, but didn?t say much beyond that. He told

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her he had not slept for two days. She asked what was wrong with him, but he didn?t respond.
At some point, Ms. Olango left her apartment and then returned. Mr. Olango was still there.
Ms. Olango spoke with her mother on the telephone and told her Olango needed to go to the
hospital. Ms. Olango believed he was having a mental health issue or breakdown and needed to
go to a hospital.

She called 911. Ms. Olango said she did not believe he had any prior mental health issues. She
told the dispatcher Mr. Olango needed to be taken to the hospital. She said she called a second
time while he was still in the apartment. (Her actual 911 calls indicate the ?rst call was made
while Olango was inside the apartment, and the second and third calls were made outside while
Ms. Olango was watching Olango walking in traf?c. This inconsistency is noted only to address
the discrepancy between the statement given during this interview, which occurred months after
the incident, and the actual 911 recordings.)

Ms. Olango continued to get ready for work and believed Mr. Olango was still inside her
apartment. Ms. Olango was concerned about leaving Olango alone in his current state. She called
her work and noti?ed them she would be late. When she ?nished cooking, showering, and
prepared to leave for work, she heard the front door open and realized Olango had left the
apartment. His cell phone was left behind and she wasn?t able to call him. Olango had also left
his shirt. She left her apartment to go to work. She thought perhaps Olango had driven
somewhere.

As Ms. Olango drove towards her work, she was surprised to see Mr. Olango walking down the
street and almost getting hit by a car. He was looking back and forth as if someone was behind
him, even though no one was there. She called out to him and asked him to come with her so she
could take him home, but he didn?t respond and kept walking. She followed him in her car and
repeatedly asked him to come with her but he refused. Ms. Olango called 911 again and asked
the operator to send someone, but was told "they had other priority calls. Olango walked all over
the street, in traf?c, over the median, onto sidewalks, and crossed back and forth. Ms. Olango
was concerned he would be hit by a car.

Ms. Olango saw two police of?cers at the gas station. She parked her car and ran towards them.
She told an of?cer, described as Of?cer Gonsalves, that her brother ?was not acting right,? and
?probably had like a mental breakdown.? She said he was not mentally stable, but she did not
know of any prior mental diagnosis, nor had she even seen Mr. Olango acting this way before.
(During the interview, Ms. Olango said that one of her sisters told her Olango was acting
paranoid while he was at her home sometime in the past, but Ms. Olango did not have any
further details.) Gonsalves drove off and went to search for Olango, while Ms. Olango continued
to speak to the other of?cer, described as 

Ms. Olango saw that Of?cer Gonsalves located Mr. Olango close by and she ran over towards
him. She saw Olango walking around, back and forth, and he appeared scared. Gonsalves was
pointing his gun at Olango and ordering Olango to put his hands up. Another woman nearby told
her to tell Olango to raise his hands up. arrived and pointed a Taser at Olango. Olango
continued to walk back and forth and appeared scared and confused. Ms. Olango tried to walk
closer to Olango to talk with him, but Gonsalves told her to stay back. During the interview at

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the District Attorney?s of?ce, Ms. Olango expressed frustration Gonsalves didn?t try to use more
?crisis communication? and attempt to calm him down or call another unit such as a PERT team
to deal with Olango. She said she called for police to help Olango, not shoot him multiple times.
Ms. Olango said she only saw Olango?s hands at his sides and didn?t know if his hands were in
his pockets. She was looking at the two of?cers when she heard gunshots. She said did not see
her brother take a shooting stance.

Statement of Civilian Witnesses and #5

Civilian Witness #2 was standing near the intersection of Broadway and Mollison
Avenue when saw Mr. Olango standing at the bus stop on the north side of Broadway.
Olango had his shirt off and was talking to a female. who knew Olango, commented
Olango did not look like his normal self and appeared as if he was on drugs. Olango ran across
the street to the south side of Broadway.

saw two uniformed police of?cers arrive shortly thereafter. watched the police
of?cers approach Mr. Olango. The ?rst of?cer (Of?cer Gonsalves) parked his car and made
contact with Olango, while drove around to the other side of Windy City Liquor to
approach from another angle. Gonsalves got out of his car and told Olango to remove his hands
from his pocket. Olango would not comply. saw Olango?s pants and could tell there was
something in the pocket besides Olango?s hand. recognized that Olango?s failure to
remove his hand from his pocket was going to present a safety issue for the police of?cer. 
told Olango to take his hands out of his pocket and warned him the of?cer may shoot him if he
didn?t comply. saw someone recognized as Olango?s sister (Lucy Olango) at the
scene and also told her to tell Olango to take his hand out of his pocket. Gonsalves had his gun
out of his holster and kept it down to his sideOlango. Gonsalves kept
ordering Olango to take his hand out of his pocket but Olango replied, "No, no, no.?

Lucy Olango then approached from across the street and shouted at Mr. Olango to take his hand
out of his pocket. Ms. Olango told Of?cer Gonsalves that Olango did not have any weapons.
heard Ms. Olango state she called to get help for Olango. Olango then pulled his hand
quickly out of his pocket and pointed it towards the of?cer. At the scene, told an of?cer
that Olango had something in his hands, but the object wasn?t a gun. At a later interview, 
said she thought Olango had a gun based on Olango?s motion, but didn?t see anything in
Olango?s hands. heard four gunshots and Olango fell to the ground. felt the of?cer
was justi?ed in shooting in order to defend himself, but did not think Gonsalves had to shoot as
many times as he did. told police, ?The cop had every right- shoot or be killed. I?m gonna
protect myself. He motioned like he had a weapon.?

Civilian Witness #3 was working at the taco shop restaurant and noticed a male

(Mr. Olango) wandering around. Olango appeared to be looking for something or someone,
walking in and around the street and walking back and forth in the parking lot. continued
working. Later that afternoon, heard a woman screaming, ?Don?t shoot him. Don?t shoot
him.? looked out into the parking lot and saw Olango, a female, and the police of?cers.
recorded the event using a personal cell phone. The uniformed police of?cer calmly asked
Olango to take his hand out of his pocket, but Olango refused and kept walking around with his
right hand in his front pant pocket. The of?cer followed Olango and continued to tell him to

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remove his hand from his pocket several times. The woman stood behind the of?cer and told the
of?cer not to shoot Olango, and said Olango did not have anything. The woman also shouted to
Olango and told him to take his hand out of his pocket, but Olango refused. saw a second
of?cer arrive with a Taser. did not hear Olango say anything to the of?cer and Olango
kept looking around and appeared confused. heard gunshots and realized the of?cer shot
Olango. did not know whether Olango tried to take his hands out of his pocket
immediately before the shooting. continued recording the event. The recording also
captured the of?cers trying to give medical assistance to Olango. willingly provided the
cell phone and recording to the investigators.

Civilian Witness #4 was with family when saw police activity in the
parking lot of the taco shop. got out of car and approached on foot. stood
at a distance on the east side of a building, east of the incident. saw a male (Mr. Olango)
standing between two police of?cers in the parking lot. said Olango?s right hand was in
his pocket or possibly in his waistband. said Olango stood in what described as a
?ghting stance. Of?cers were talking to Olango and trying to calm him down, but Olango was
not complying. could not make out what Olango was saying, but he sounded like he was
mumbling. His right hand was already in his pocket, but he pulled it out of his pocket and
pointed something at the of?cer. was not able to see what the object was or whether it
was a knife or a gun, but said it was not his ?nger. The object was big, pointed, and black in
color. saw that the of?cer had his gun pointed at the suspect. She did not see or hear the
shots ?red but saw Olango on the ground. heard a female screaming and yelling at police.
The female said something about her brother being mentally ill. said the incident
happened quickly.

Civilian Witness #5 is a retired law enforcement of?cer. was driving slowly on
Broadway looking for a business. saw one or two police cars in a parking lot and a male
(later identi?ed as Mr. Olango) who appeared to be very agitated. pulled over and
blocked the driveway to the taco shop and decided to approach and assist if needed. was
concerned that there were not enough police of?cers present if things got out of hand, based on
Olango?s level of agitation. As walked up the driveway, noticed one of?cer had a
weapon pointed at Olango. couldn't tell if it was the of?cer's pistol or Taser, or perhaps a
?ashlight or laser attached to a ?rearm. It looked like it had two barrels. Another of?cer had his
gun pointed at Olango. Olango was screaming. could not understand what anyone said.
heard loud shouting. said Olango raised his hands up and pointed them towards
the of?cer in front of him, as if he had a weapon in his hand and in a stance of about to shoot a
gun or something.? saw something in Olango?s hand but could not tell what it was.
Gonsalves ?red several rounds at Olango, who fell to the ground. left shortly thereafter.
saw news of the shooting on television and decided to call the ECPD to share his
statement.

Civilian Witness #6 was waiting in the drive?through window at the taco shop and
noticed a subject (Mr. Olango) standing in the parking lot in front of the building next door.
Olango stared angrily at and appeared as if he were going to confront Olango
stepped towards a few times, but eventually moved away. placed order at
the microphone and drove up to the window. saw a police car pull into the driveway and

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the of?cer contact Olango. Olango refused the of?cer?s repeated orders to remove his hands
from his pocket. saw moving towards Olango. Fearing that something was going
to happen, went inside and heard ?ve gunshots and a woman screaming. looked
out the drive?through window and saw Olango on the ground.

Additional civilian witnesses were located and interviewed by ECPD investigators. Those
additional witnesses saw and heard events related to this investigation, including the contact
immediately preceding the of?cer involved shooting. The additional witnesses also saw

Mr. Olango behaving irrationally before of?cers arrived at the scene. They reported seeing
Olango endangering his and their safety by darting in and out of vehicle traf?c on Broadway.
Three of these witnesses happened to be driving past the event in a work van and saw of?cers
contacting Olango. Those witnesses said they did not see the actual shooting because their work
van had moved past the location. One passenger in the work van said Olango was shirtless and
had both of his hands out to his sides before the shooting, as if Olango was displaying them to
the of?cers to show he had nothing in his hands. That witness? version of the event was
unsupported and contradicted all other evidence and witness statements.

Statement of 

said he responded to the radio call of man walking in and out of traf?c on Broadway near
Mollison Avenue. arrived at the Arco gas station and looked for someone matching the
subj ect?s description. Of?cer Gonsalves arrived shortly thereafterspeak with Gonsalves when they saw a female (Lucy Olango) walking across the street towards
them. Ms. Olango told them about Mr. Olango?s behavior. She said Olango had not been
diagnosed with a mental health diagnosis, but Olango believed people were after him or
watching him. Of?cer Gonsalves drove away and started looking for Olango, while 
remained to get more information from Ms. Olango. Ms. Olango, who had been following
Olango in a car, walked back to retrieve her vehicle to continue the search.

drove around the area in search of Mr. Olango. A few moments later, Of?cer Gonsalves
radioed that he?d located Olango at 833 Broadway. Gonsalves also broadcast Olango had his
hand in his pocket and was not listening or complying with Gonsalves? order to remove it.
arrived and saw Olango. did not recall seeing Gonsalves? pistol out of its holster
but heard Gonsalves yelling for Olango to take his hand out of his pocket. Olango was looking at
Gonsalves, while walking backward and side-stepping in front of Gonsalves. At times, Olango
would turn his back towards Gonsalves and then turn back around and face him. Olango was
moving continuously south in the parking lot in this manner.

drove his police car around to the other side of the taco shop and stopped perpendicular to
Of?cer Gonsalves? position in order to prevent Mr. Olango from moving west towards the open
businesses. saw Gonsalves had his gun out and was pointing it at Olango. Olango still had
his hand in his pocket.WO#1 got out of his car and decided to have his Taser ready to use against
Olango, since Gonsalves already had his ?rearm ready and the Taser gave them an additional
force option. prepared to get close enough to deploy the Taser.

saw Mr. Olango?s right hand come out suddenly from his front pant pocket and his left
hand came up to support his right hand in a shooting stance.WO#1 said he saw a metal silver

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tube which appeared to be a gun barrel with another part to it. believed Olango pulled out
a gun and was about to shoot Of?cer Gonsalves. heard gunshots and was not sure if the
shots were from Gonsalves or from Olango. In that moment, shot Olango with his Taser.
said he would have shot Olango with his gun if he had it out, but used his Taser since it
was already in his hands. said Olango ?already had the drop,? or advantage at that
moment, on Gonsalves. ?s Taser barbs struck Olango, who turned and fell, landing on his
back. Ms. Olango was screaming but did not recall what she was saying, as he was too
focused on Olango. Olango dropped what believed was a gun and Gonsalves kicked it
away. It was then realized the object was not a gun. said Gonsalves cut Olango?s
shirt open and began medical assistance. Another of?cer brought a ?rst aid kit and they treated
Olango until paramedics arrived.

Statement of O?icer Gonsalves

Of?cer Gonsalves said Lucy Olango called the El Cajon Police Department to report a family
member (Alfred Olango) was acting very erratically. Olango was walking down the street and
had jumped into traf?c lanes several times. Gonsalves and arrived at the gas station at
about the same time and were looking for the reporting party. They saw her across the street
waving at them, as she crossed over to them. Ms. Olango pointed in a southwest direction and
said Olango ran that way. Gonsalves left the gas station and started driving in that direction
while continued speaking with Ms. Olango.

Of?cer Gonsalves said he pulled into a strip mall west of the taco shop. Gonsalves saw a subject
matching Mr. Olango?s description east of him. Olango looked at him and walked northbound
through the parking lot west of 833 Broadway. Gonsalves drove east towards Olango, stopped
near the driveway east of the taco shop, and immediately noticed Olango had his right hand in
his right front pant pocket. It appeared as if there was something else in Olango?s pant pocket
besides his hand that formed a large bulge. Gonsalves was immediately concerned the bulge
could be a weapon. Gonsalves got out of his police car and stood behind the door approximately
20 feet from Olango. Gonsalves unsnapped his holster, placed his hand on his pistol, and told
Olango to take his hand out of his pocket. Olango continued to walk toward Gonsalves but
would not remove his hand from his pocket. Gonsalves continued asking Olango to show his
hand and broadcasted this over the police radio. He kept his hand on his pistol during these initial
commands, but did not yet un-holster it.

After repeated commands by Of?cer Gonsalves to remove his hand from his pocket, Mr. Olango
stopped approaching Gonsalves and started looking around to the left and to the right as he
backed away. Olango moved erratically. Gonsalves said he repeatedly told Olango to take his
hand out of his pocket but wasn?t sure if Olango was perhaps deaf or didn?t speak English, so
Gonsalves motioned with his right hand and simulated taking it in and out of his own right front
pant pocket. Olango continued to back away and moved left and right, but remained facing
Gonsalves for most of the time. Olango looked rapidly from side to side and was taking deep
breaths. Gonsalves felt as if Olango was about to either charge him or pull a weapon out from his
pocket.

Of?cer Gonsalves said he un?holstered and removed his pistol at this point and kept it pointed
downward by his side. He continued to give commands to Mr. Olango. Olango was not

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cooperating and kept his hand in his pocket. Gonsalves followed Olango as they crossed between
planter boxes and onto the driveway adjacent to the taco shop and continued broadcasting on his
radio that Olango was not following commands and not taking his hand out of his pocket. Once
in this area, Olango began verbally responding to Gonsalves. With each command by
Gonsalves to remove his hand from his pocket, Olango would reply only with, Gonsalves
positioned himself in front of Olango to keep him contained in the parking lot in order to keep
the situation more manageable.

Of?cer Gonsalves said he heard a female behind him constantly screaming something.
Gonsalves thought she was screaming for Mr. Olango to take his hand out of his pocket.
Gonsalves did not know who the female was and tried to maintain his focus on Olango, who was
standing in front of him. Gonsalves sensed the screaming female was getting too close for their
safety. Gonsalves brought his pistol up from his side into a low-ready position. At this time,
Gonsalves saw arrive and exit his police car.

Mr. Olango backed up close to the side of a white truck. Of?cer Gonsalves took a couple more
steps and came within approximately 10 feet of Olango. Gonsalves turned to check behind him
and redirect the screaming female to back away. Gonsalves looked over his left shoulder and saw
it was Ms. Olango. Gonsalves told her she needed to back away.

As soon as Of?cer Gonsalves turned his attention back to Mr. Olango, he saw Olango pushing
both of his hands forward, with a gun barrel protruding from Olango?s hands. Gonsalves
believed he was about to get shot because he took his attention off Olango to look behind at

Ms. Olango. Gonsalves aimed and ?red at Olango. Gonsalves believed he ?red three times.
Olango immediately fell down. Gonsalves saw the object Olango held in his hand hit the ground.
Gonsalves also saw Taser wires on Olango as he fell. Gonsalves assumed had deployed
his Taser at some point. Gonsalves saw the item Olango held in his hand was now on the ground.
Gonsalves put on a pair of latex gloves and cut Olango?s shirt off while told Olango to
keep breathing. Other of?cers arrived and relieved Gonsalves.

Investigation

The crime scene was secured, photographed, and investigated by El Caj on Police homicide
detectives. All of?cers? reports, Medical Examiner reports, audio recordings from the San Diego
Sheriff and E1 Caj on Police Department 911 dispatchers and witness interviews were reviewed
for this report. The crime scene photographs, closed circuit surveillance videos from
surrounding businesses and cell phone videos were also reviewed for this investigation.

The cellphone video recovered from consisted of 1 minute and 41 seconds of footage. The
footage consisted of Of?cer Gonsalves and Lucy Olango in the parking lot of the taco shop

(777 Broadway). Ms. Olango is heard yelling at Mr. Olango to remove his hands from his
pockets. Mr. Olango is seen walking backwards and sidestepping away from Gonsalves and/or
Ms. Olango. The video shows Olango suddenly raising both hands together, extending his arms,
and pointing his hands in front of him towards Gonsalves in a shooting stance. Gonsalves is seen
ducking down and stepping to his left. Four gun shots are heard. is seen simultaneously
walking towards Olango and pointing his Taser at him. As Gonsalves is ?ring, Olango begins
falling while turning and spinning, and lands on his back, with his head towards Gonsalves.

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is heard on the video after the shooting, Speaking primarily in Spanish. said, ?El
policia estuvo en so derecho (the cop was in the right)," and "No sacaba la mano (He wouldn't
take out his hand)?

The video recovered from the closed circuit surveillance camera of the taco shop also captured
the event without sound. Investigators collected closed circuit surveillance video from other
cameras in the immediate area. A video camera from a nearby business captured a subject
appearing to be Mr. Olango walking in and out of the traf?c lanes on Broadway prior to the
arrival of ECPD.

The investigation determined Mr. Olango possessed an electronic smoking device with a silver
colored cylindrical mouth piece. Of?cer Gonsalves ?red four rounds from his .40 caliber pistol.

On September 28, 2016, a Deputy Medical Examiner performed Mr. Olango?s autopsy. The
cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to Olango?s neck and torso. Toxicological studies
performed on blood collected from Olango in the hospital?s emergency room tested positive for
cocaine and alcohol.

Legal Analysis

This review was conducted pursuant to the joint protocol between this of?ce and all San Diego
law enforcement agencies calling upon the District Attorney to conduct an independent
assessment of the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force. The purpose of the District
Attorney's review is to provide an independent analysis and determine if the shooting was legally
justi?ed. This review does not address compliance with the policies and procedures of any law
enforcement agency, ways to improve training, or any issues related to civil liability.

Under California law, peace of?cers may use deadly force to protect themselves from the threat
of death or great bodily harm and to use reasonable force in making an arrest. California Penal
Code section 835a allows an of?cer to use reasonable force to make an arrest and to overcome
resistance by a person whom she has reasonable cause to believe has committed a public offense.

In accordance with Penal Code section 196, peace of?cers may use deadly force in the course of
their duties under circumstances not available to members of the general public. We are
mindful, however, that certain limits on the use of deadly force apply to peace of?cers. The US
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Scott v. Henrich (9th Cir. 1994) 39 F.3d 912,
delineated those circumstances under which deadly force may be used:

[P]olice may use only such force as is objectively reasonable under the
circumstances. An of?cer?s use of deadly force is reasonable only if ?the
of?cer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a signi?cant
threat of death or serious physical injury to the of?cer or others.? All
determinations of unreasonable force ?must embody allowance for the fact
that police of?cers are often forced to make split-second judgments in
circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving about the
amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation.?

Chief Jeff Davis
January 9, 2016
Page 11 of 12

The ?reasonableness" of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a
reasonable of?cer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Graham v.
Connor (1989) 490 US. 386, citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 US, at 20-22.

In addition to any laws applicable to situations where peace of?cers use deadly force in
accomplishing their duties, the law of self defense is available to any person. A person acts in
lawful self?defense or defense of another if she reasonably believed that she or someone else was
in imminent danger of suffering bodily injury, believed that the immediate use of force was
necessary to defend against that danger, and used no more force than was necessary to defend
against that danger.

Conclusion
The threshold question in any shooting based on a perceived need to use self-defense or to
defend others is whether the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances.

In this instance, of?cers were ?rst advised by dispatch Mr. Olango was a subject with a possible
mental disorder, or a ?5150,? based on California Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150.
The dispatcher advised Olango was walking into traf?c and the reporting party had called
repeatedly. This behavior endangered his life, as well as the lives of others.

Second, Mr. Olango exhibited evasive, non-compliant behavior when Of?cer Gonsalves found
him. Despite numerous orders to remove his hand from his pocket, Olango refused both in word
and in action. The bulge in Olango?s pocket further corroborated Gonsalves? fear Olango could
be armed, and Gonsalves made repeated attempts to resolve that concern by asking Olango to
show his hand. Gonsalves had his weapon openly displayed and ready. It was apparent to
witnesses both near and far Olango?s failure to follow the of?cer?s commands could result in
him being shot by the of?cer. To that end, even Ms. Olango and recognized the of?cer?s
concern and apprehension and pleaded with Olango to take his hand out of his pocket. Instead,
Olango continued to retreat and side-step, backing away from the of?cers purposely refusing to
comply with commands and heightening Gonsalves? fear.

Finally, the manner in which Mr. Olango removed his right hand from his pocket is particularly
critical in determining whether Of?cer Gonsalves? fear of being shot was reasonable under the
circumstances. Instead of simply bringing his hand out and showing it to be empty, or even
taking out the vaping device and holding it to his side or throwing it to the ground, Olango
removed his hand by quickly transitioning into a shooting stance and simulating the ?ring of a
weapon directly at Gonsalves. Olango gripped the device in such a way as to place the vaping
device mouthpiece, which is the silver cylindrical portion of the device, in the same position
where a gun barrel would be. Based on Olango?s prior conviction for gun possession, it can be
reasonably concluded for the purpose of this analysis that Olango knew how to hold a weapon in
such a shooting stance. This information is relevant to determining Olango?s state of mind at the
time of the incident and his appreciation of how such a stance would be interpreted by a police
of?cer. It appears Olango?s actions in bringing up his hands in this manner, with the vaping
device was a purposeful, intentional act by Olango to place Gonsalves in fear that he was about
to be shot. There is no evidence Gonsalves knew Olango before this incident, nor did he know
anything about Olango?s criminal history. However, Gonsalves immediately recognized both the

Chief Jeff Davis
January 9, 2016
Page 12 of 12

appearance of a gun and the accompanying shooting stance and needed to act immediately to
address that threat. In the same instance and from a different angle, believed Olango was
pointing a gun and about to shoot Gonsalves. discharged his Taser, which struck Olango
at almost the same time as Gonsalves? gun?re.

As such, Mr. Olango?s actions, the close distance, and the lack of other effective options in the
split-second of time provided Of?cer Gonsalves with no other choice, but to respond with deadly
force.'These facts, the evidence and the law determine Gonsalves? use of deadly force was
reasonable under the circumstances. He bears no criminal liability for his actions because he was
legally justi?ed and compelled to shoot Mr. Olango to stop the reasonably perceived threat.

A copy of this letter, along with the materials submitted for our review, will be retained in our
?les.

Sincerely,

r" BONNIE M. DUMANIS
District Attorney
County of San Diego