REPORT OF THE FATAL SHOOTING OF EUGENE CRAIG ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 JEFFREY F. ROSEN DISTRICT ATTORNEY TABLE OF CONTENTS Preamble 3 Synopsis 4 Factual Summary 4 Statements by Law Enforcment Sergeant Douglas Ulrich 5 Deputy Donald Weyhruach 7 Deputy Veronica LaGuardia 8 Deputy Allen Reyes 10 Sergeant Dennis Owens, Jr. 11 Deputy Mark Harper 12 Deputy Michael Vincent 12 CSI Detective Deputy Carroll 12 Photo Depicting Scene of Shooting/Firearm 14 Statements by Civilian Witnesses Harue Craig 14 Elizabeth Craig 17 Ron Roberts and Nancy Larson-Roberts 17 Jim Marshall 19 Steven and Karen Akimoto 20 Robert and Barbara Faxon 20 Investigation Detective Brown 21 Medical Examiner and Toxicology 22 Video and Police Radio Traf?c 23 Relevant Legal Principles 24 Analysis 25 Conclusion 26 PREAMBLE The summary of this incident is drawn from reports prepared by the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Of?ce and submitted to this of?ce by Santa Clara County Sheriff?s Of?cer James Cardenas. The submission included: reports of the responding deputies on scene; reports summarizing interviews of the involved deputies and civilian witnesses; recordings of interviews; video from the dashcam on a patrol car; photographs; and 911 police radio communications. This review of the evidence is being conducted pursuant to the Of?cer-Involved Incident Guidelines adopted by the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association on December 8, 2016. This review included the report from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner?s Of?ce, which classi?ed the death as a homicide due to gunshot wound. SYNOPSIS Deputies were dispatched to conduct a welfare check on the elderly residents at 12132 Titus Avenue. Deputies attempted numerous methods to make contact into the residence. Deputies called for a supervisor to respond to the scene to assist. Deputies forced entry into a side door and were met by a subject with a handgun. The deputies gave the subject numerous verbal orders to drop the gun. Deputies feared for their safety and began to retreat. A deputy was forced to ?re his service weapon in fear for his safety and the safety of his partners. FACTUAL SUMMARY On September 12, 2016 at approximately 7:49 deputies were dispatched to conduct a welfare check on the residents at 12132 Titus Avenue in the City of Saratoga. The reporting party, Elizabeth, was the granddaughter of the residents and stated that she talks to her grandparents on a regular basis and had not been able to make contact with them for a week. Elizabeth had tried calling them numerous times that day and was concerned since her grandparents were elderly and had multiple medical problems. Deputies Reyes, Weyhrauch and Laguardia were dispatched to the call and responded within a few minutes. Deputies attempted to make contact at the front door and via phone. There was no response. A check for ?rearms registered to the address returned that there were several semi- automatic ?rearms registered to the subject. Eventually, deputies on scene decided to call for their supervisor, Sergeant Ulrich, to come to the scene. At approximately 8:25 pm, Sgt. Ulrich arrived on scene and informed County Communications that they were going to force entry into the house. Sgt. Ulrich asked County Communications to have the ?re department and medics ready in case anyone was in medical distress inside the house. After determining that the front door was steel re-enforced, Sgt. Ulrich decided to move to an alternate breach point a side garage door. A few seconds after the units on scene advised that they were forcing their way into the house via the garage, a broadcast was put out over the radio stating, ?He?s got a gun, he?s got a gun, shots ?red.? Only a couple seconds later, there was another radio broadcast stating, ?He?s still got the gun, shots ?red.? Sgt. Ulrich discharged his service weapon four times. The subject was hit and taken to a local hospital where he later died from his wounds. The subject was later identi?ed as 87-year-old Eugene Craig. Mr. Craig resided at 12132 Titus Avenue with his wife, 89-year-old Harue Craig. he following summaries are taken ??om the SheriJj?O?ice Incident Report for case number 16- 256-04] 1 S. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STATEMENTS SERGEANT DOUGLAS ULRICH Sergeant Ulrich was identi?ed as the shooter and was placed on administrative leave the evening of the incident, which is standard procedure for the Sheriff?s Of?ce in of?cer involved shootings. Sgt. Ulrich provided a statement on September 16, 2016 at 8:01 am. to police detectives. Background Sgt. Ulrich has been with the Sheriffs Department for 15 years and has performed various assignments as a deputy in the Court Service Division, Field Training Program, and West Valley Parole Division. In 2011, he was promoted to Sergeant and has since held various supervisory positions. The Incident At approximately 7:39 pm. on September 12, 2016, Sgt. Ulrich heard the call for the welfare check on Titus Avenue come out over the radio. Sgt. Ulrich did not initially respond to the call for service, but rather was in route to the substation to review reports. Sgt. Ulrich was at the intersection of De Anza Boulevard at Bollinger Road when Deputy Reyes called him via cell phone. Deputy Reyes advised Sgt. Ulrich that the deputies had been at the house for a while and had tried to contact the occupants by knocking on the door and having County Communications call into the residence with no answer. Deputy Reyes asked Sgt. Ulrich to respond to the residence with bolt cutters so they could attempt to enter the residence through the back to check on the welfare of the residents. Once at the residence, deputies further briefed Sgt. Ulrich. Deputy LaGuardia told Sgt. Ulrich about her conversation with the reporting party Elizbeth who reported she had not talked to her grandfather in about a week and that Mr. Craig had recently received ?bad news.? Elizabeth was vague about what this ?bad news? was. Deputy Reyes informed Sgt. Ulrich that Deputy Weyhrauch had heard some sounds when he had ?rst knocked on the door. Shortly after Sgt. Ulrich?s arrival, Deputies LaGuardia and Reyes went to talk to the neighbors on each side of the residence. Neighbor Steve Akimoto identi?ed the elderly couple who resided at 12132 Titus Avenue as Eugene and Harue Craig. Steve stated that Mrs. Craig religiously walks every evening at approximately 8:30 pm. and that Mrs. Craig is adamant about taking her walk, but Steve had not seen her take her customary walks recently. Steve also said the couple does not leave their residence without their car, which Deputy Weyhrauch had observed was still in the garage. Another neighbor, Robert Faxon said that he hadn?t seen or talked to Mr. Craig in a while and reiterated what Elizabeth said concerning Mr. Craig?s medical issues. Based on this information and the facts known to him at that time, Sgt. Ulrich concluded that someone inside the residence was likely in need of medical assistance. Sgt. Ulrich, the other three deputies, and one of the neighbors walked around the backside of the residence. Sgt. Ulrich saw a light inside the residence was on through a skylight on the roof and saw that there was light coming from underneath the curtains. Sgt. Ulrich and the deputies 5 announced themselves and called Mr. Craig?s name when they were in the backyard. Sgt. Ulrich stated that he did not hear a TV on in the residence. All of the doors and windows in the backyard were found secured and locked. Two individuals, later identi?ed as Ron and Nancy Roberts then arrived at the residence. They stated that they hadn?t seen the Craigs in a while and were there to check on them. Ron Roberts told deputies that Mr. Craig had mentioned in the past that if he ever received ?bad news? he would kill Mrs. Craig and himself. This appeared to be in relation to medical issues. Sgt. Ulrich determined that it was necessary to force entry into the house. Sgt. Ulrich planned to have one of the deputies drive a patrol vehicle up the driveway to act as cover as the rest of the deputies approached the residence on foot. The deputies put on helmets and armed themselves with their service weapons. Sgt. Ulrich provided ?knock-notice? by knocking on the front door and announced police presence by saying, ?Police Eugene are you inside, do you need help? Come to the door! If you don?t open the door I am going to have to kick it in, Eugene, you there?? Sgt. Ulrich did not receive a response. Sgt. Ulrich attempted to kick open the front door without success, so he decided that the exterior garage door in the backyard would be the next breach point. Sgt. Ulrich kicked down the interior garage door, announced Sheriff Of?ce, entered the garage, and saw that there was another door leading from the garage into the interior of the house. Sgt. Ulrich checked this door?s handle and found that it was locked. Sgt. Ulrich kicked in the interior garage door and again called out, ?Hello, anyone inside? Hello? Police!? Five to six seconds passed and then Sgt. Ulrich heard Deputy Weyhrauch yelling, ?Eugene, drop the gun!? Sgt. Ulrich took a step back toward the vehicle parked in the garage to get some cover, and transmitted over the radio ?He has a gun.? Sgt. Ulrich then saw Mr. Craig approaching deputies with a black revolver. Mr. Craig was non-responsive to the deputies? repeated commands to drop the gun. Sgt. Ulrich described Mr. Craig as having a ?catatonic look, like a zombie.? Sgt. Ulrich saw that Mr. Craig was ?xated on him while he raised the revolver in his direction and was pulling back on the trigger. Although Mr. Craig was ?xated on him, Sgt. Ulrich estimated that Mr. Craig held the revolver within ?ve to six feet of Deputy Weyhrauch. Sgt. Ulrich was fearful that Mr. Craig would turn and shoot Deputy Weyhrauch in the face. Sgt. Ulrich feared for his safety and for the safety of his deputies. Sgt. Ulrich ?red four times at Mr. Craig and broadcast ?shots ?red? over the radio. Mr. Craig fell down but was still holding the gun. The deputies ordered him to drop it. Sgt. Ulrich stated that Mr. Craig halfway sat up and said something to the effect of ?you shot me in my house,? or ?you shot me?? Mr. Craig still had the gun in his hand and turned the revolver back toward the deputies. Sgt. Ulrich and the other deputies again repeatedly ordered Mr. Craig to drop the gun. Shortly after, Mr. Craig?s hand opened and the gun slid out. Mr. Craig?s wife, Harue, emerged from behind Mr. Craig. Sgt. Ulrich entered the residence and kicked the gun away from Mr. Craig. Sgt. Ulrich pulled Mrs. Craig out of the house passing her to another deputy. Deputies then began providing Mr. Craig with medical aid. DEPUTY DONALD WEYHRAUCH Deputy Weyhrauch was interviewed by detectives on September 13, 2016 at 8:47 am. Background Deputy Weyhrauch has worked for the Sheriffs Of?ce for ?ve years, and has been assigned to the Court Security Division and the West Valley Patrol Division. The Incident Deputy Weyhrauch arrived ?rst at 12132 Titus Avenue. He ?rst knocked and rang the doorbell at the front door. Deputy Weyhrauch received no answer but heard an elderly male?s voice from inside the house. Deputy Weyhrauch stated that it either sounded like he said either ?hello? or something along the lines of ?hello, I?ll be right there.? Deputy Weyhrauch announced himself as ?Sheriffs Of?ce? and waited for someone to answer the door. When no one responded Deputy Weyhrauch knocked again a minute later and heard a small crashing sound from inside, which he described as something falling on the ?oor. Deputy Weyhrauch was concerned that the elderly man may have fallen on the way to answer the door. Deputy Weyhrauch knocked again, announced Sheriffs Of?ce and then began to look through the window to the left of the front door, which looked into the kitchen. Deputy Weyhrauch continued to knock on the door and window until Deputies Reyes and LaGuardia arrived. Deputy Weyhrauch briefed them on the situation. Deputy LaGuardia went to talk to a neighbor who reported that Mr. and Mrs. Craig should be at home. Around this time, Deputy Weyhrauch noticed that the garbage can had been put out that day and a kitchen light that had been on when he arrived was now turned off. Deputy Weyhrauch concluded that everything seemed to suggest that the couple was home. Deputy Weyhrauch went to the backyard by jumping over the gate and looked in the side garage window where he saw the Craigs? Nissan Altima. Deputy Weyhrauch went further into the backyard and tried to look through the sliding glass doors, but could not see anything due to the thick drapes. Deputy Weyhrauch got on his hands and knees to try to look under the drapes, but did not see or hear anything. Deputy Weyhrauch heard the phone ringing and later found out that Deputy Reyes had asked County Communications to call the number they had registered to the Craigs. Deputy Weyhrauch continued to walk around the backyard around the perimeter of the house announcing himself as Sheriffs Of?ce and knocking on the sliding glass doors. Deputy Weyhrauch even yelled ?Eugene, are you home, Eugene?? Deputy Weyhrauch went back to the front of the house and learned from Deputies Reyes and LaGuardia that according to the reporting party Mr. Craig had been acting strange lately and had received some sort of bad news from his family. A neighbor may also have overheard the Craigs ?ghting and there was concern over a comment Mr. Craig had made in front of Jim Marshall about smashing his wife?s head in. The neighbors also stated that Mr. Craig was ex-military. The deputies ran a ?rearms check on Mr. Craig and found that he owned several guns. Based on the results of the ?rearm check, Deputy Weyhrauch stated that he put on his helmet and additional body armor. Once Sgt. Ulrich arrived they decided to force entry. Deputy 7 Weyhrauch explained that the decision to force entry was made by all the deputies and Sgt. Ulrich together. Deputy Weyhrauch pulled his patrol car into the driveway and manually turned on the camera in his patrol vehicle, swiveling it to face the front door. Deputy Weyhrauch also turned the spotlight on the window next to the front door and on the gate leading to the backyard. Deputy Reyes and Sgt. Ulrich went up to the front door while Deputy Weyhrauch and Deputy LaGuardia stayed in the driveway. Deputy Weyhrauch con?rmed that Sgt. Ulrich said in a very loud voice, ?Eugene, come to the door or we?re gonna kick the door down,? prior to trying to breach the front door. After not being successful in breaching the front door they moved to the back-garage door. Sgt. Ulrich kicked the door in and entered the garage. Deputy Weyhrauch stated that they were yelling the whole time that they were entering the garage saying, ?Sheriffs Of?ce, Eugene come out, Sheriffs Of?ce.? Deputy Weyhrauch was on the left of the door leading into the house while Sgt. Ulrich was on the right approximately two to three feet back from the door. Sgt. Ulrich then kicked in the door from the garage to the interior of the house. Deputy Weyhrauch was carrying his AR-15 ri?e and was pointing it into the house yelling, ?Hey Eugene, come out. Eugene are you in there? Sheriffs Of?ce, Sheriffs Of?ce.? After 10-15 seconds Deputy Weyhrauch saw Eugene walk around the corner with a gun held down at his side. Deputy Weyhrauch started shouting at Eugene ?Hey Eugene, drop the gun, drop the gun right away.? At the same time Sgt. Ulrich was also yelling at Eugene telling him ?Sheriffs Of?ce, drop the weapon.? Deputy Weyhrauch stated that three to four seconds passed with Mr. Craig standing there with the pistol at his side shuf?ing towards the deputies slowly. Deputy Weyhrauch and Sgt. Ulrich continued to make verbal commands for Mr. Craig to drop the gun. Mr. Craig then walked out of Deputy Weyhrauch?s line of sight continuing to walk toward Deputy Ulrich and then Weyhrauch heard three to four shots into the house. Deputy Weyhrauch stated that the gun was still in Mr. Craig?s right hand as Mr. Craig was laying on his back with his head up looking at the deputies and the gun. Deputy Weyhrauch said that Mr. Craig looked like he was slowly trying to reach or grab for the gun so the deputies yelled at him ?Eugene, don?t touch the gun.? Once Mr. Craig dropped the gun and Mrs. Craig was secured, Deputy Weyhrauch peered down the hallway to make sure that no one else was present in the house. During the interview Deputy Weyhrauch described Mr. Craig?s conduct directly before the shooting saying, ?At ?rst, I thought maybe he?s just confused, confronting an intruder breaking into his home. . .then, as he is staring at me and he is walking towards me with this gun, I realized that he knows who we are, I didn?t know what his intentions are, but he was not complying for some reason. So it went from, um, old man woken out of bed confrontin? and intruder to I see this guy, I recognize you, I?m not gonna comply with what you?re telling me.? DEPUTY VERONICA LAGUARDIA On September 13, 2016 at 5:12 am. Deputy LaGuardia was interviewed by detectives. Background Deputy LaGuardia has been with the Sheriffs Of?ce for three years and has worked in the Court Services Division, Field Training Of?ce, and West Valley Patrol Division. The Incident Deputy LaGuardia was dispatched to 12132 Titus Avenue at approximately 7:50 pm. When she arrived, she encountered Deputy Reyes and Deputy Weyhrauch, and was briefed on the situation. Deputy LaGuardia called the reporting party, Elizabeth, who again repeated that she was concerned about her grandparents and had not been able to reach them. Deputy LaGuardia tried to look into windows on the southwestern part of the residence, but was unable to see anything. Deputy LaGuardia went to neighbor Steve Akimoto?s house and learned that Steve had not seen Mr. or Mrs. Craig in a while. Steve provided Deputy LaGuardia with a key, but the key was old and didn?t work. Steve then called Jim Marshall, a mutual friend that knew the Crai gs. Jim informed Steve and Deputy LaGuardia that Mr. and Mrs. Craig should be at home. Jim mentioned a concerning conversation between Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig. While the three of them were at dinner about a week before the shooting, Mrs. Craig went to grab something from the trunk of their vehicle. Mr. Craig was upset with how long Mrs. Craig was taking and said something along the lines of ?If you don?t hurry up I?m going to bash your head against the trunk.? Jim expressed concern about a possible murder/suicide in regards to Mr. Craig hurting his wife and then himself. Jim also disclosed that in general Mr. Craig harps and yells at Mrs. Craig. Steve added that Mr. Craig had several guns in the home. Steve and im?s statements left Deputy LaGuardia with the impression that it was important that they make contact with the couple immediately. Deputy LaGuardia relayed this information to Deputies Reyes and Weyhrauch. Deputy Reyes then called Sgt. Ulrich. Deputy LaGuardia called Elizabeth again to ask if there were any more contact numbers for the Crai gs. Elizabeth became more concerned about the situation and mentioned that her mother had spoken to Mr. Craig via telephone the day before and had expressed some devastating news. Elizabeth failed to elaborate on exactly what the news was, but seemed worried. Elizabeth mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Craig go everywhere together and that they are likely home if their vehicle is in the garage. Elizabeth also stated that Mr. Craig had heart issues and expressed concern that the Craigs may be in medical distress. Deputy LaGuardia con?rmed Deputy Weyhrauch?s account of continuing to try to contact the Craigs and the deputies? conversation with Ron and Nancy Roberts. Deputy LaGuardia added that Ron speci?cally mentioned that he was concerned about Mrs. Craig and that Mr. Craig keeps a gun under his pillow. After failing to breach the front door, the deputies then decided to move into the backyard, entering in the following order Sgt. Ulrich, Deputy Weyhrauch, Deputy LaGuardia and Deputy Reyes. Sgt. Ulrich kicked open the back door entering into the garage. Deputy LaGuardia stated that there was a vehicle in the garage. The deputies moved around the vehicle towards a door that appeared to lead into the interior of the house in the same order in which they entered the backyard, forming a shape along the passenger side of the vehicle in front of the door to the house. Deputy LaGuardia then heard the door to the house open and Deputy Weyhrauch yelled, ?Dr0p the gun, Sheriff?s Of?ce, drop the gun.? Sgt. Ulrich was also giving verbal commands to Mr. Craig to drop the gun. After the verbal commands, shots were ?red by Sgt. Ulrich less than a minute later. Deputy LaGuardia saw a white male adult on his back on the ground as well as an elderly female standing above him. There was a ?rearm directly near the male?s right hand. Deputy LaGuardia gave the female verbal commands to step away from the area. When the female moved forward, Deputy LaGuardia grabbed her by the arm and exited the garage, leading Mrs. Craig to the street and placing her in a patrol car. Deputy LaGuardia stayed at the car with Mrs. Craig, who when asked what happened today responded that Mr. Craig was upset because his granddaughter had a boyfriend and Mr. Craig didn?t like that. Deputy LaGuardia could not understand anything else Mrs. Craig said. Emergency services soon arrived and the garage door was opened to allow them entry. Deputy LaGuardia stayed in the street helping deputies cordon off the crime scene and assisted Mrs. Craig by making sure she was comfortable. All the deputies were later transported to the Cupertino substation for questioning and evidence collection. DEPUTY ALLEN REYES Deputy Reyes was interviewed by detectives on September 13, 2016 at approximately 6:59 am. Deputy Reyes has worked as a Deputy Sheriff since 2002. The Incident Deputy Reyes arrived on scene and was briefed by Deputy Weyhrauch. Deputy Reyes said he could see lights on in the house. Deputy Reyes knocked on the front door and looked through windows, but received no response. Deputy Reyes mentioned that they were really ?pounding? on the door and windows, and repeatedly announced Sheriff 5 Of?ce. Deputy Reyes contacted neighbors Steve and Karen Akimoto, who were concerned about the Craigs because they were elderly and had medical issues. Steve said he last saw them that past weekend. Karen pointed out that the green garbage can outside of the house must have been put there after 4:00 pm. that day because she hadn?t seen it out earlier that day. Steve gave Deputy Reyes a key to the house, but the key was old and didn?t work. Steve came to the residence with Deputy Reyes and knocked on the front door a few times stating, ?Hey it?s your neighbor, can ya open the door?? Steve also checked the windows and opened the gate for the police to get into the backyard. Deputy Reyes also went to talk to neighbors Robert and Barbara Faxon who gave Deputy Reyes the Craigs? phone number, which was the same phone number County Communications had tried to call. Robert said he was a?'aid ?something happened.? Deputy Reyes estimated that they were at the residence for 30-40 minutes before he called Sgt. Ulrich and requested him to respond to the scene. It took Sgt. Ulrich approximately 5-10 minutes to arrive on the scene. Once Sgt. Ulrich arrived Deputy Reyes was concerned Mr. Craig might be assaultive based on the 10 neighbor?s information concerning Mr. Craig?s military history and the results ?om the ?rearms check. Deputy Reyes con?rmed the accounts concerning the breach of the front and garage doors as described above. Deputy Reyes added that the backyard door into the garage was already broken open when he entered the backyard. Approximately ten seconds later Deputy Reyes heard the interior door from the garage to the house being kicked open but could not see this ?'om his position. Deputy Reyes heard Deputy Weyhrauch and Sgt. Ulrich giving Mr. Craig commands to drop the gun for approximately 10 seconds. Deputy Reyes turned to cover the direction they came from and a few seconds later shots were ?red. Deputy Reyes entered the home and saw Mr. Craig on the ground with Mrs. Craig standing over him yelling, ?What happened, what happened?? Deputy Reyes began providing ?rst aid to Mr. Craig while Deputy LaGuardia took Harue outside and Deputy Weyhrauch began to clear the house. Deputy Reyes reported that prior to emergency services arriving Mr. Craig was conscious and breathing. SERGEANT DENNIS OWENS, JR. On September 12, 2016 at 8:25 pm, Sergeant Owens heard Sgt. Ulrich transmit over the radio that a subject had a gun and that shots had been ?red. Sgt. Owens responded to the scene with Deputy Harper, arriving within one minute of the shots ?red advisement. When Sgt. Owens arrived, he noticed Deputy Weyhrauch?s patrol vehicle parked in the driveway with spotlights and headlights illuminated and directed onto the garage. Sgt. Owens and Deputy Harper were met by Sgt. Ulrich in the open garage. Sgt. Ulrich informed Sgt. Owens that no deputies were injured but that the subject was shot and was lying in the doorway. Sgt. Ulrich told Sgt. Owens that he was the person who shot the subject and that he was the only one that discharged their duty weapon. Sgt. Ulrich said he ?red his duty weapon four times which was consistent with the spent shell casings Sgt. Owens observed at the rear of the vehicle parked in the garage. Sgt. Owens looked in the doorway and noticed what appeared to be a .38 special revolver lying next to the door jam. Sgt. Owens also saw Mr. Craig lying on the ?oor with his feet pointing towards the opening of the door. Mr. Craig had his right arm up off the ground and his ?ngers were positioned as if he was holding a gun. Sgt. Owens helped provide ?rst aid until paramedics took over. After the shooting, Deputy LaGuardia contacted one of the neighbors and began to get a statement for the event. During this statement, Sgt. Owens overheard the words ?murder/suicide? as being a thought the neighbor had in the past. Sgt. Owens told LaGuardia to end her interview at that time since she was directly involved in the incident. Sgt. Owens assigned deputies as peer support to Sgt. Ulrich and the deputies involved in the incident and informed them to not disturb anything or talk about the incident. Around 10:37 Deputy Vincent informed Sgt. Owens that Eugene Craig was pronounced deceased at the hospital. While standing at the scene, Sgt. Owens was approached by Ron Roberts. Ron told Sgt. Owens that he had been friends with Eugene and Harue Craig for many years and that Mr. Craig ?keeps 11 Harue locked up in the house 6 days a week? and ?does not treat her very well.? Ron also informed Sgt. Owens that Mr. Craig had a prior incident with one of his neighbors when Mr. Craig shot at birds in his backyard. The neighbor got upset with Mr. Craig for shooting the gun in the direction of the neighbor?s house and words were exchanged. Ultimately, Mr. Craig had threatened to kill the neighbor. DEPUTY MARK HARPER On September 12, 2016 at 8:47 pm, Deputy Harper responded to the scene after hearing a call over the radio advising of a suspect with a gun and that shots had been ?red. Upon arrival, Deputy Harper entered the garage and observed Eugene Craig lying on his back inside the residence. Mr. Craig appeared to have two gunshot wounds to his chest. Deputy Harper observed a black and brown revolver laying on the ground in the door amb near Mr. Craig?s feet. In the garage Deputy Harper observed four brass shell casings on the cement ?oor near the rear of the vehicle in the garage. DEPUTY MICHAEL VINCENT On September 12, 2016 at 8:49 pm, Deputy Vincent arrived on the scene and saw Eugene Craig on the ground near the doorway that led from the garage to the inside of the residence. After performing a security sweep of the home, Deputy Vincent assisted Deputy Reyes with performing ?rst aid on Mr. Craig. At 9:05 pm, Deputy Vincent escorted Mr. Craig to the hospital, following EMS Medics to Valley Medical Center in San Jose. At the hospital, Deputy Vincent heard Eugene Craig yelling that he was in pain, but was unable to ask him any question due to the plethora of nurses and doctors surrounding Mr. Craig. When doctors removed Mr. Craig?s clothing to render aid, Deputy Vincent collected the clothing and placed it in a bag as evidence. At approximately 10:37 hospital personnel advised Deputy Vincent that Eugene Craig had died on the operating room table. CSI DETECTIVE DAVID CARROLL CSI Detective David Carroll arrived on scene at 10:32 pm. and was briefed on the incident by Sgt. Owens. At 11:39 pm, Sgt. Owens gave Detective Carroll two digital cameras which Deputy LaGuardia and Deputy Edwards had used to take digital photographs of the scene. At 11:57 pm, Detective Carroll walked through the scene and made the following notable observations: I Directly behind the Nissan Maxima parked in the garage, there were four spent, brass colored bullet cartridges 0 Next to the front door on its east side there was a ?ower pot in which there was a Sheriff? Of?ce ballistic helmet 0 Located above the garage door on the house?s exterior was a surveillance camera, the camera faced down onto the driveway I On top of the Nissan Maxima there was a pair of silver colored handcuffs 12 . Located at the back (east side) of the garage was a garage pedestrian door that was standing open, a portion of the door?s frame that ran along the door?s deadbolt had been broken off and was lying on the garage ?oor in front of the pedestrian door 0 There was a door leading from the garage to the residence?s living room, lying in the threshold of this door was a revolver style handgun I There were multiple bullet holes in (1) the west side of the door frame leading from the garage to the residence?s living room (2) in the living room wall (3) in the back of the living room couch (4) in a cushion of the living room couch 0 On a stone path in the backyard was a slipper which had blood on its toe, the path led to the back door which had been forced open, another slipper was found further down the path a In one of the bedrooms, detectives located a large gun safe 0 Most of the rear of the residence was comprised of glass windows and sliding glass doors, all of which were covered with thick drapes - Two half eaten plates of food and almost empty bottle of white wine were positioned on the dining room table 0 The TV was turned on very low volume 0 Two ri?e pellet guns stood in the comer of the family room 0 Inside the house, above the door leading from the garage to the living room was a surveillance camera pointing down At 1:26 Detective Carroll and Detective Vandegraaf arrived at the West Valley substation to process the deputies involved in the incident at Titus Avenue. Detective Carroll photographed the uniform and entire person of Sgt. Ulrich, Deputy Weyhrauch, Deputy LaGuardia, and Deputy Reyes. Detective Vandegraaf collected Sgt. Ulrich?s uniform shirt, pants, ballistic vest, boots, duty belt and ?rearm as evidence. 13 Photo depicting the location of ?rearm being held by Mr. Craig at the time he was shot but after it was kicked away from him after the shooting. Photo also depicts the location where Mr. Craig fell and received medical intervention. The View is from the garage entry looking into the residence which is the location the of?cers were in at the time of the shooting. CIVILIAN STATEMENTS Harue Craig Harue Craig (wife of Eugene Craig) was interviewed on September 13, 2016 at 2:32 am. at Police Headquarters. Background Harue married Mr. Craig in Tokyo, Japan in 1968 and shortly thereafter came to the United States. Mr. Craig had been in Japan serving in the US Navy as a pilot. Upon returning to the US, Mr. and Mrs. Craig lived in San Francisco while Mr. Craig attended the University of San Francisco. They later moved to Saratoga and have lived in the same residence on Titus Avenue ever since. Mrs. Craig had graduated from high school and worked as a typist in Japan, but had 14 not worked since moving to the US. After moving, Mrs. Craig studied English to complete citizenship, but she did not have any further education. Mr. and Mrs. Craig had one son together (Thomas). Thomas has a daughter named Elizabeth whom Mrs. and Mr. Craig had maintained a relationship with through the years. When talking about Elizabeth, Mrs. Craig mentioned that Mr. Craig had become upset with Elizabeth over something, but Mrs. Craig did not know what it was. Elizabeth?s mother, Shelia, had recently had conversations with Mr. Craig and it was during these conversations that Mr. Craig had become upset. Mrs. Craig described Mr. Craig as being disappointed with Elizabeth. Mrs. Craig stated she and Mr. Craig seemed to get along well with everyone in the neighborhood and that they did not have any problems with anyone. She described Mr. Craig as being a good person, but that he had a bad temper with her. This temper would come out as verbal arguments, but Mr. Craig would eventually apologize to Mrs. Craig and everything would seem to be okay. Mrs. Craig described gun collecting as a hobby of Mr. Craig?s. Mrs. Craig stated that Mr. Craig kept one gun in the dresser of the master bedroom for safety purposes. Mrs. Craig said that the ri?es found in the formal living room were used to scare away birds in the backyard. Mrs. Craig stated that Mr. Craig did not suffer from any type of mental conditions, but admitted that they were getting older. Mrs. Craig also con?rmed that Mr. Craig did not wear any form of hearing aids and did not have any hearing issues. Mrs. Craig described her hearing as ?so so.? Mrs. Craig said Mr. Craig did not have any vision problems and only wore glasses to read. Mr. Craig was not wearing his glasses at the time of the shooting. The Incident In the days prior to the incident, Mr. Craig had spoken with Shelia (Elizabeth?s Mother) and had learned that Elizabeth had been spending time with a boyfriend. Mr. Craig thought that Elizabeth was too young to be serious with a boyfriend. Upon learning of this relationship Mr. Craig became extremely upset. On September 12, 2016, Mrs. Craig stated that she woke up at approximately 9:00 am. and had followed her normal routine of making breakfast and going for a walk in the neighborhood. After her walk Mrs. Craig completed work in the yard while Mr. Craig began to try and ?gure out how to repair the front door to the residence. The front door had been broken and inoperable for a while. Mr. Craig had gone to a local store in the afternoon for a couple hours to buy parts and to try to ?nd a handyman to come and repair the door. Mrs. Craig mentioned that the phone had been ringing all day, but they did not answer it. More speci?cally, Mr. Craig had told Mrs. Craig not to answer it since he was upset with Elizabeth. Once Mr. Craig came home, Mrs. Craig made dinner. Mrs. Craig said they ate dinner at approximately 8:00 pm, which happened to be at approximately the same time as someone began to knock on the front door and ring the doorbell. At this time Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig were sitting at the dining room table. Mr. Craig told Mrs. Craig not to answer the door because it was too late in the evening for someone to try and contact them. The people at the door continued to knock and eventually started to bang on the door ?really hard.? Mrs. Craig had 15 asked Mr. Craig if she could look out of the window to see who it was, but again he told her not to because it may be dangerous. A short time later, Mrs. Craig and Mr. Craig noticed ?ashlights in the backyard of their home but did not actually see the people holding the ?ashlights or look outside to see Who was there. Mrs. Craig did not hear the people in the yard saying anything and did not recall hearing them say anything when they were at the front door. Mr. Craig told Mrs. Craig to be quiet and had wondered how the people got into the backyard, asking Mrs. Craig if she left the gates unlocked when she was working in the yard earlier in the day. Eventually the people left the backyard and went back to the front of the house. Approximately 30 minutes later the people came back and were knocking on the door. Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig were sitting on the couch watching television when someone broke into the house through the garage. Mrs. Craig later told detectives that the volume on the television was on low because Mr. Craig had turned it down so that whoever was walking around the house would not hear it and think someone was home. Mrs. Craig described a loud crashing sound coming from the rear garage door. Mr. Craig then went to get his gun in the bedroom. When he returned from the bedroom he walked straight toward the door leading from inside of the house into the garage. Mrs. Craig then looked and saw three men standing in the garage near her vehicle. Mrs. Craig stated that they were wearing some type of brown uniform with patches and had yelled ?Sheriff.? Mr. Craig was standing inside of the house near the open garage door. She did not recall hearing Mr. Craig say anything and only recalled hearing the men outside asking her why she did not answer the door when they knocked. Mrs. Craig then heard gun?re. Mrs. Craig described Mr. Craig and the of?cers as both shooting, but only remembered one shot being ?red. She saw Mr. Craig fall back to the ground with the gun in his hand. Mrs. Craig stated she was standing right behind Mr. Craig when the shots were ?red and observed Mr. Craig was still lying on the ?oor when one of the of?cers grabbed Mrs. Craig from inside the house and took her out to a patrol car. In her interview Mrs. Craig stated that she nor Mr. Craig ever talked about calling 911 for help when they heard the people outside. Mrs. Craig thought Mr. Craig would handle it and that they would stay quiet and the people outside would leave. Mrs. Craig said Mr. Craig had previously installed the surveillance cameras (mentioned above by C81 Detective Carroll), but that they did not work. Mrs. Craig stated that she had been wearing slippers while in the house prior to the shooting. When she exited the house her slippers had fallen off in the backyard and were later found by C81 Detective Carroll. Mrs. Craig con?rmed that the doors and windows at the back of the house were always closed and the blinds were always drawn shut. Mrs. Craig described the curtains as being very heavy and thick such that one cannot see through them into the yard without pushing them aside. 16 Elizabeth Craig Elizabeth Craig is the twenty-two year old granddaughter of Eugene and Harue Craig. She was the original reporting party who had called County Communications to ask for a welfare check on the Craigs. Sergeant Omori contacted Elizabeth via phone on September 13, 2016 at approximately 9:14 am. Elizabeth currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her ?anc? and had just recently ?nished college. Elizabeth?s father, Thomas, is Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig?s son. Thomas had been estranged from Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig at the time of the incident. Elizabeth had lived with her mother her entire life. Elizabeth had stated that Mr. Craig had always been supportive of her and that their relationship had grown closer in recent years. Elizabeth said she had last spoke with her grandparents around August 30, 2016. Elizabeth indicated that her mother Shelia Peterson had spoken with Mr. Craig recently, but Shelia had recently suffered a stroke and was in the hospital in ICU. Elizabeth and Shelia had a recent falling out over accusations that Elizabeth was stealing from her. When Shelia was in the hospital Elizabeth looked through Shelia?s phone and found a text message from an unknown party that indicated that Mr. Craig was upset with Elizabeth and that Elizabeth was no longer welcome at his Saratoga home. Based on the call records on Shelia?s phone, Shelia had last spoke with Mr. Craig over the phone on September 11, 2016 at 11:58 am. Elizabeth believed that Shelia was trying to hurt Elizabeth emotionally to get back at her for what Shelia thought was theft. Elizabeth believed that Mr. Craig was ?well off? and that Shelia had told Mr. Craig not to give any money to Elizabeth. On September 12, 2016, Elizabeth attempted to get a hold of Mr. Craig over the phone to inform him that Shelia had suffered a stroke. Elizabeth called Mr. Craig approximately 7?10 times that evening without an answer. Elizabeth had a bad feeling since it was unlike Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig to deviate from their schedule. Elizabeth called and requested a welfare check to be done. Ron Roberts and Nancy Larson-Roberts On September 12, 2016 at approximately 10:50 Detective Cardenas contacted Ron Roberts and Nancy Larson-Roberts. Ron stated that he was friends with Eugene and Harue Craig. On September 12, 2016 at 8:24 Ron received a call from Jim Marshall, a mutual friend of Ron and Mr. Craig. Jim had received a call from Mr. Craig?s granddaughter who was worried because she couldn?t get in touch with the Crai gs. Jim told Ron that Mr. Craig?s car was parked in the garage. Ron became concerned because he knew Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig were home if their car was parked in the garage. Ron decided to go to the Craig?s house to try to contact him. When Ron arrived, he saw several deputies already at the house. When Ron asked if he could check on Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig a deputy told him to back up. Ron waited to see what the deputies discovered. As Ron waited he overheard the deputies talking about Mr. Craig owning ?rearms. Ron stated that he told the deputies that Mr. Craig did have guns but that they were locked up in a gun safe, except for one pistol that he sleeps with under his pillow. Ron also stated ?now if he?s asleep, don?t walk in his bedroom.? Ron was concerned that the Craigs had not responded and wondered if they were 17 sleeping, but thought it was unlikely since the patrol car?s spotlight was shining into the house, and the deputies had been ?banging on the door.? Ron saw deputies knock on the front door and then go around the back. Ron stated that three or four deputies walked into the backyard while the female deputy stayed at the front of the house. A few minutes later Ron heard four to six gunshots. Ron stated that he did not hear any yelling until after the gun shots. After the shots, Ron heard the deputies say ?hello, hello.? Ron never heard the deputies identify themselves as peace of?cers. When asked how much time passed between his conversation with the deputies and the gunshots Ron replied, ?not very much.? Ron described Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig as not being socially active, and only going out to grocery shop and to dinner on Wednesday?s. Ron had not talked to Mr. Craig in two weeks prior to September 12, 2016. When asked if Mr. Craig had any mental health issues, Ron stated that he didn?t know if it was a mental health issue, but that Mr. Craig was hard to get along with and didn?t have many ?iends. Ron and Mr. Craig had bonded over their service in the military. Ron said he didn?t think Mr. Craig had ever expressed any ill feelings towards law enforcement. Ron stated that the only law enforcement incident he knew about happened several years ago. Mr. Craig had shot at some birds that were eating the koi ?sh in his yard?s pond. A neighbor had complained to him, which led to an argument between Mr. Craig and the neighbor. Law enforcement was called as a result. Ron described the relationship between Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig as Mrs. Craig being ?secluded,? and Mr. Craig being ?dominant.? Ron stated that Mr. Craig did not physically abuse Mrs. Craig but did tell her to shut up and ?she knew to shut up.? Ron said it wasn?t unusual to call Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig and not get a response from them. Ron stated that ?sometimes they?d answer, sometimes they didn?t cause neither one of them hear very well.? Ron also spoke to Detective Cardenas about Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig?s relationship with their son Thomas and having become estranged from Thomas years ago. After the estrangement, according to Mr. Roberts, Mr. Craig had forti?ed the entrances to his house and had since installed steel reinforcements to the front door and surrounding walls. Nancy Larson?Roberts On September 12, 2016 at 10:46 Detective Brown interviewed Nancy Larson Roberts While she was seated inside her vehicle on Titus Avenue near the crime scene. Nancy corroborated Ron?s description of the call from Jim Marshall. She also stated that Jim Marshall had stated that he called 911 dispatchers to request a welfare check on the Craig?s. Jim wanted Ron and Nancy to respond to the Craig?s house to provide further information for the deputies. Nancy stated that she arrived at the house with Ron at approximately 9:00 pm. Nancy initially parked directly across from the Craig?s home on Titus Avenue, but was asked to move her car by a female deputy. Nancy stated that a deputy con?rmed with Ron that Eugene Craig owned ?rearms. Nancy did not hear all of the conversation Ron had with deputies as she was in the car with the doors closed and windows rolled up. When she was sitting in the car Nancy said she heard a loud noise that 18 sounded like deputies were trying to break down the door. Nancy could not see what was happening from her car. Anywhere from two to ten minutes later, Nancy heard three gunshots in rapid succession from the area of the Craig?s house. Nancy said it was eerily quiet after the gunshots and the next thing she saw was a female deputy drag Harue Craig out of the house and place Mrs. Craig in a patrol car. Jim Marshall Jim Marshall was interviewed via phone by Detective Brown on September 13, 2016 at approximately 1:00 pm. Jim was friends with Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, and Ron Roberts. They would dine together every Wednesday. On the day of the incident, Steve Akimoto had called Jim to tell him that the deputies were trying to contact Mr. Craig. Jim had worked as a gardener for Steve for many years and had met Mr. Craig through his work at Steve?s house approximately 20 years ago. Jim then called Ron and asked him to go over to the Craig?s house to check on what was going on since Ron lived closer to the Craigs. At some point before the shooting Jim had tried calling Mr. Craig, but no one picked up. Later that night Ron called Jim to say there had been a shooting and that Mr. Craig had died. It was later determined that Jim had been one of the reporting parties that Deputy LaGuardia had spoken to prior to the shooting. Jim told Deputy LaGuardia that he had some ?funny feelings? about how the ?end of life was going to happen with Eugene and Harue.? For some time Mr. Craig had been making strange comments about not letting Mrs. Craig ever be by herself. Jim felt that if something were to ever happen to Mr. Craig, he was going to take Mrs. Craig with him. Mr. Craig once told Jim that if anything were to happen to Mrs. Craig, he would immediately try to go drown himself in the pond in the backyard because he could not handle the thought of Mrs. Craig no longer being with him. Jim described Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig?s relationship to Detective Brown. Jim stated that Mr. Craig was ?controlling? and would scold Mrs. Craig in front of others. Jim again relayed the incident that happened at the Wednesday night dinner before the shooting (see above). Jim did mention to Detective Brown that he did not think Mr. Craig would have ever hurt Mrs. Craig, but was very protective of Mrs. Craig. Jim con?rmed that there was a problem with the front door and that it did not work properly. Mr. Craig had been in the process of getting it repaired at the time of the incident. Jim assumed this was the reason Mr. Craig did not come out to talk to the deputies when they were there. Mr. Craig was apparently proud of the door and the security measures he had taken at the house to prevent break ins. Jim commented that it was likely accurate that Mr. Craig was suffering from dementia, but that it was something that everyone noticed and not something that had been diagnosed by a doctor. Jim also noted that recently Mr. Craig had had trouble speaking in complete sentences. Jim stated that Elizabeth was trying to contact Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig, but that Mr. Craig did not answer because Elizabeth had been bugging them for money and Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig 19 were now ?practically broke? because they had been supporting Elizabeth for so many years. Jim said he had no idea there was tension between Mr. Craig and Elizabeth and was surprised that Elizabeth was trying to call the Craigs without success. Steven and Karen Akimoto Karen Akimoto was interviewed on September 13, 2016 by detectives at her home. Karen stated that she and her husband moved into the neighborhood back in 1983. Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig were already living there when they moved in. Karen said her husband and her were not very close with Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig. Karen would sometimes talk to Mrs. Craig, but avoided Mr. Craig because he was ?opinionated.? Karen said Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig used to work out in their yard on a regular basis, but after Mr. Craig?s health started to decline they were not outside as much. Karen brie?y talked about the strained relationship between Mr. Craig and Thomas. Karen knew they did not have a good relationship and Mr. Craig had even told Karen at one time to call the police if Thomas ever showed up at the house. Karen mentioned Mr. Craig was close to Elizabeth and had paid for Elizabeth to go to college. Karen thought Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig were extremely proud of Elizabeth and was unaware of any falling outs they made have had with her. The Incident Karen said the night before deputies had come to their house and spoken to her husband Steve. Karen thought she had heard the shots being ?red next door, but at the time she thought it may have been someone knocking on the door. Karen did not hear anyone say anything or yell anything next door prior to the shots. Karen said the deputies came to her house two times that night and that she overheard something about a key to the Craig house. Karen was aware that Steve helped deputies by contacting Jim Marshall by telephone: Karen said Steve had gone next door with the deputies in an effort to contact Mr. Craig and Mrs. Craig, but quickly came back when they received no response. Robert and Barbara Faxon Robert and Barbara axon are the Craig?s neighbors to the south. They were contacted by detectives on September 13, 2016. Robert stated that they had lived at that address for over 20 years and had been neighbors with the Craigs that entire time. They were friendly with them, despite Mr. Craig being ?very ?rm in some of his ways and beliefs.? Barbara also mentioned that she may have noticed some of the early signs of dementia in Mr. Craig. She is familiar with dementia as both of her parents have dementia. Robert remarked that Mr. Craig was frequently gruff with Mrs. Craig, but that Mrs. Craig was very submissive to Mr. Craig. Both Robert and Barbara reported that they would often hear Mr. Craig being verbally abusive toward Mrs. Craig calling her names such as stupid. Mr. Craig had run ins with Robert?s son Christopher over the years but things had seemed to be better nowadays. Barbara described an incident over a year ago where Mr. Craig confronted Christopher with a baseball bat. Christopher was trying to leave the house in his truck, which happened to be a loud, large, high riding vehicle. Mr. Craig thought Christopher had spotlighted 20 him with the truck headlights on purpose and became extremely upset. Mr. Craig used the bat to confront Christopher and threaten him with it, trying to encourage Christopher to get out of the truck for a physical ?ght. The confrontation ended without any physical altercation, but Christopher happened to get the incident on cell phone video, which Robert and Barbara still had copies of. Christopher did not notify law enforcement of this incident and there was never a report made on what occurred. Detective Brown later reviewed the video of the incident between Mr. Craig and Christopher which showed Mr. Craig holding a baseball bat and threatening Christopher with it. The Incident Robert and Barbara were home on the night of the incident. They had just returned from a trip overseas. The deputies on scene had knocked on their door and contacted them to see if they had any information on Mr. Craig or Mrs. Craig. Robert told the deputies that he thought Mr. Craig was in the early stages of dementia and provided the deputies with the Craig?s home phone number. Robert went outside and saw deputies going up the driveway. A short time later Robert heard loud pops coming from next door and watched numerous units begin to arrive followed by ?a lot of commotion at the house.? He saw Mrs. Craig being rushed out of the house by deputies who then put her in the back of a patrol vehicle. Neither Robert nor Barbara heard anyone yelling at the residence but thought they heard someone knocking on a window as if they were trying to wake someone up inside of the house. Robert did remark that he was not sure if he would be able to hear anyone yelling from where he was standing in his residence. INVESTIGATION DETECTIVE BROWN Detective Brown investigated the shooting for the Sheriffs Of?ce. He gathered the statements summarized above from law enforcement and civilians. Detective Brown also looked into whether the Craig?s surveillance cameras had been working at the time of the incident. A Crime Lab technician determined that the system had not been working properly at the time of this incident and had not recorded or saved any information since March 2016. Detective Brown also looked into whether there had been any other calls for service at 12132 Titus Avenue in the recent pass. Detective Brown found that there had been three calls for medical events and seven other calls involving suspicious vehicles and stolen mail. Earlier in 2016 Mr. Craig had called to report that Christopher Faxon?s truck was parked in front of the Craig?s house. Detective Brown also looked into the incident described by Mr. Craig?s friends involving Mr. Craig?s dispute with a neighbor over shooting birds in the Craig backyard. Detective Brown was not able to locate any kind of law enforcement report that was taken in reference to either incident. 21 MEDICAL EXAMINER REPORT DOCTOR JOSEPH P. The autopsy was performed by Dr. Joseph O?Hara on September 13, 2016 at 9:45 a.m. The report included all of Dr. O?Hara?s ?ndings during autopsy, including the fact that he located a total of four gunshot wounds to various areas of Mr. Craig?s body. Dr. O?Hara concluded that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds of the trunk, and the manner of death was classi?ed as homicide. The speci?c ?ndings as to the gunshot wounds was as follows: I. II. IV. Gunshot wound of the pelvis with exit (wounds and B). a. b. c. d. Entrance gunshot wound at the lower abdomen with marginal abrasion. Perforation of abdominal wall, small bowel, pelvis, and right buttock. Exit gunshot wound at the superior aspect of the right buttock. Trajectory form the decedent?s front-to-back, le?-to-right, and downward. Gunshot of the pelvis with exit (wounds and C). 9.031? Entrance gunshot wound at the right inguinal region with marginal abrasion. Perforation of skin and subcutaneous tissue only. Exit gunshot wound at the lateral aspect of the right pelvis. Trajectory from the decedent?s front-to-back, downward, and left- to-right. Gunshot wound of the chest with exit (wounds and A). a. b. c. d. Entrance gunshot wound at the right side of the upper chest with marginal abrasion and contusion. Perforation of chest wall, heart, right lung, and back. Exit gunshot wound at the right side of the midback. Trajectory from the decedent? front- to- back, le?- to-right, and downward. Gunshot wound of the chest with exit (wounds and H). a. b. c. d. Entrance gunshot wound at the right side of the mid chest with marginal abrasion and contusion. Perforation of skin and subcutaneous tissue only. Exit gunshot wound at the lateral aspect of the right side of the lower chest. Trajectory from the decedent?s front- to?back, left- to- -right, and downward. Graze gunshot wound of the chest (wound I) a. b. c. Graze gunshot wound at the lateral aspect of the right side of the lower chest with con?uent marginal abrasion. Perforation of skin only. Trajectory (likely continuous with gunshot wounds and H). A toxicology test of Mr. Craig Craig?s blood revealed the presence of the therapeutic agents Midazolam and Ketamine. No ethanol or other common drugs of abuse were detected. 22 VIDEO AND POLICE RADIO TRAFFIC The only video pertinent to the investigation is that of the dashcam of the patrol car parked in the driveway of the Craig residence after they determine they are going to have to make entrance. Deputies had been there for several minutes prior to this video being activated. During the initial time on scene the deputies were knocking on the front and back doors and windows and announcing their presence as law enforcement. The deputies and County Com both attempted to make contact with the residents by calling into the land line of the home. They also contacted both neighbors on each side of the Craigs? residence. The dash cam video depicts deputies with tactical gear attempting to make contact at the front door then heading toward the backyard. The radio in this vehicle catches muf?ed noises at both locations and the radio traf?c announcement of when shots were ?red. Between the times of 8:43 and 8:44 the deputies are trying again to get the Craigs to answer the front door by announcing their presence repeatedly and banging on the front door and windows. Deputies announce that they will be coming into the residence if the door is not answered by the occupants. At 8:44:51 deputies head toward the backyard. At 8:45:30 there is muf?ed sounds of the deputies yelling commands to open the door and other commands that are not audible due to the location. At 8:45:47 you can hear gunshots and immediately afterward there is an announcement by the dispatcher that shots have been ?red. After the patrol vehicle is driven into the driveway of the home and a light is used to illuminate the front door, the following announcements occur at the front door of the residence: 8:45:45 ?Sheriffs Of?ce. Sheriffs Of?ce, open the door. Sheriffs Of?ce, open the door please.? ?Eugene, open the door or we are going to kick it in.? During this time, deputies are banging on the front door and front windows loudly. At approximately 8:44:51 deputies are seen moving toward the back of the residence where the side garage door is located. 8:45:38 ?Sheriffs of?cer open the door? [Barely audible on the dash cam Video as of?cers are now in the garage of the home] There is unintelligible yelling. 8:45:47 Four gunshots are heard. 8:45:50 ?Shots ?red, shots ?red.? 8:45:58 ?He still has the gun in his hand.? 8:46:04 ?He dropped the gun.? 8:46:14 ?Send AMR quickly.? 23 RELEVANT LEGAL PRINCIPLES This review was conducted pursuant to the joint protocol between this of?ce and all Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies, which calls upon the District Attorney to conduct an independent assessment of the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force. This review does not examine issues such as: compliance with the policies and procedures of any law enforcement agency; ways to improve training or tactics; or possible civil liability. Accordingly, such a review should not be interpreted as expressing an opinion on those matters. Possible criminal charges against an of?cer involved in a fatal shooting include murder (Penal Code section 187) and manslaughter (Penal Code section 192). To convict an of?cer of a homicide charge, however, it would be necessary to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no legal justi?cation existed for the of?cer?s actions. (People v. Banks (1976) 67 Cal.App.3d 379, 383-3 84.) Several justi?cations may apply in any given case, and they are set forth in Penal Code sections 196 and 197. The justi?cation pertinent to this case is use of force in self-defense and defense of others, which is found in Penal Code section 197. California law permits all persons to use deadly force to protect themselves from the imminent threat of death or great bodily injury. Penal Code section 197 provides that the use of deadly force by any person is justi?able when used in self?defense or in defense of others. The relevant criminal jury instruction, as written by the Judicial Council of California, is set forth in CALCRIM 505 (?Justi?able Homicide: Self-Defense or Defense of Another?). The instruction states that a person acts in lawful self-defense or defense of another if (1) he reasonably believed that he or someone else was in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily injury, and (2) he reasonably believed that the immediate use of deadly force was necessary to defend against that danger. CALCRIM 505. In lawful self-defense or defense of another, a person may use no more force than is reasonably necessary to defend against the danger. CALCRIM 505. A person may resort to the use of deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another where there is a reasonable need to protect oneself or someone else from an apparent, imminent threat of death or great bodily injury. Perfect self-defense requires both subjective honesty and objective reasonableness. (People v. Aris (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 1178, 1186.) Additionally, ?[i]mminence is a critical component of both prongs of self-defense.? (People v. Humphrey (1996) 13 Cal.4th 1073, 1094.) In Aris, the trial court?s clarifying instruction to the jury on the subject was to the point and later cited with approval by the California Supreme Court: ?An imminent peril is one that, from appearances, must be instantly dealt with.? (In re Christian S. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 768, 783.) A person?s right of self-defense is the same whether the danger is real or merely apparent. (People v. Jackson (1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 639.) If the person?s beliefs were reasonable, the danger does not need to have actually existed. CALCRIM 505. What constitutes ?reasonable? self-defense or defense of others is controlled by the circumstances. The question is whether action was instantly required to avoid death or great bodily injury. In this regard, there is no duty to wait until an injury has been in?icted to be sure that deadly force is indeed appropriate. In one case, a robber pointed a gun at his victim and a deputy sheriff was called to the scene of the robbery. Before the robber could get off a shot, the deputy ?red his weapon, wounding the 24 robber. The appellate court remarked that ?[s]uch aggressive actions required immediate reaction unless an of?cer is to be held to the unreasonable requirement that an armed robber be given the courtesy of the ?rst shot.? (People v. Reed (1969) 270 Cal.App.2d 37, 45.) There is no requirement that a person (including a police of?cer) retreat even if safety could have been achieved by retreating. CALCRIM 505. In addition, police of?cers are not constitutionally required to use all feasible altematives to avoid a situation where the use of deadly force is reasonable and justi?ed. (Martinez v. County of Los Angeles (1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 334, 348.) When deciding whether a person?s beliefs were reasonable, a jury considers all the circumstances as they were known to and appeared to the person, and considers what a reasonable person in a similar situation with similar knowledge would have believed. CALCRIM 505. In the related context of cases alleging excessive force by police, the test of reasonableness of an of?cer?s use of deadly force is an objective one, viewed from the vantage of a reasonable of?cer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. (Graham v. Conner (1989) 490 US. 386, 396.) It is also highly deferential to the police of?cer?s need to protect himself and others. The calculus of reasonableness must embody the 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.? (Id. at 396-3 97.) ANALYSIS This report evaluates Sergeant Douglas Ulrich?s use of deadly force in shooting Eugene Craig on September 12, 2016. We have carefully examined his recorded statements, the reports of law enforcement of?cers who witnessed or investigated the of?cer-involved shooting, the statements of civilian witnesses, dash cam video and the audio recording of the incident, as well as the other materials described herein. Determining whether Sergeant Ulrich was legally justi?ed in his use of a ?rearm under the principles of self-defense and defense of others involves a two-part analysis: (1) did he subjectively and honestly believe he needed to protect himself or others from an apparent, imminent threat of death or great bodily injury; and (2) was his belief in the need to protect himself or others from an apparent, imminent threat of death or great bodily injury objectively reasonable. The following facts and circumstances support the conclusion that Sergeant Ulrich?s fear of imminent danger of great bodily injury or death to himself and other of?cers at the scene was genuine and objectively reasonable under the circumstances. Sergeant Ulrich responded to a call from other deputies at the scene of a welfare call where they were unable to get the homeowners to respond to their calls into the home, their banging on the door and loud announcements of their presence. All evidence led the deputies to believe that the 25 occupants were inside the residence. Information from family, friends and neighbors caused deputies to be concern the occupants may be hurt or incapacitated in some way inside the residence. Sgt. Ulrich made the decision to breach the garage doors in order to gain entry to check on the condition of the homeowners. Tragically, rather than answering calls from family, neighbors and law enforcement or responding to law enforcement presence at the home, Mr. Craig instead refused to open the door or allow Ms. Craig to answer calls or look out the window. Mr. Craig armed himself with a ?rearm and confronted the deputies when they breached the door into the kitchen area. Deputies were dressed in uniform and announced their presence as law enforcement repeatedly. Rather than disarm himself as instructed, Mr. Craig continued to approach the of?cers with the ?rearm in his hand. Sergeant Ulrich felt he had no choice but to ?re at Mr. Craig before he could ?re at him or other deputies. Lawful self?defense or defense of others does not require proof that the person who presented a threat intended to ?re at the of?cers. Such proof of intent is not required for deadly force to be justi?ed. The issue is not the state of mind of Eugene Craig, the issue is whether Deputy Ulrich acted reasonably under the circumstances. Here, Eugene Craig did not respond to the presence of uniformed deputies by complying but instead approached them while armed with a loaded ?rearm. California law permits any person to use deadly force where there is a reasonable need to protect oneself or another person from an apparent, imminent threat of death or great bodily injury. Here, Deputy Ulrich actually and reasonably believed that he needed to use deadly force to protect himself and others when Craig ignored the deputies? commands and instead approached Ulrich raising the ?rearm at him and beginning to pull the trigger. Ulrich described Eugene Craig being ?xated on him but also within very close proximity to other deputies. There is no duty to wait until a further injury has been in?icted, or for Craig to ?re the ?rst shot at police, for deadly force to be deemed appropriate. The law allows Deputy Ulrich to ?re his weapon in defense of others (and himself) until Craig no longer posed an imminent threat. In short, Deputy Ulrich genuinely believed that Craig presented an imminent threat of death or great bodily injury to others or himself when he discharged his duty weapon striking Mr. Craig four times. Under the applicable law, Deputy Ulrich?s homicide was justi?able and therefore lawful. CONCLUSION The Santa Clara County Sheriff 3 Of?ce responded to a welfare check call from Elizabeth Craig regarding her elderly grandparents. Upon assessment of the scene and acquiring additional information from friends and neighbors, deputies believed the occupants of the Craig residence may be in need of emergency medical assistance. Deputies made numerous attempts to contact the residents within the home to no avail. The decision to force entry into the home was made and tragically that entry was met with resistance in the form of an armed occupant, Mr. Craig. 26 Deputy Ulrich had a genuine and reasonable fear for the safety of himself and other deputies when he ?red his weapon at Mr. Craig. Under the facts, circumstances, and applicable law in this matter, Deputy Ulrich?s use of deadly force was in response to an apparent and immediate threat of great bodily injury or death to other of?cers and himself. His conduct is therefore justi?able in the defense of others and self, and no criminal liability attaches to him. Dated: My Respectfully submitted by STACEY CAPPS Chief Trial Deputy/ Supervisor Homicide Unit Approved by JEFFREY F. ROSEN District Attorney Jam 0" 27