SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� California's attorney general said Thursday that he will not seek criminal charges against Los Angeles police officers who , even though it turned out the gun he carried was fake.
The shooting caused panic on the busy street, with tourists and bystanders ducking for cover.
It's the first such review under a new California law that requires the state Department of Justice to review all incidents where an officer shoots and kills an unarmed civilian in the state.
In this case, officers said they responded before noon on July 15, 2021, to reports that Matthew James Sova was walking with a handgun along the Walk of Fame, and at least one person reported seeing him pointing the gun at someone. He also had a small black folding knife with an open blade that he earlier pointed toward a building security guard, according to the department's report.
Sova 鈥減ointed what appeared to be a pistol, but was actually a lighter that looked like a firearm, at Officer (Christopher) Tabela,鈥� said Attorney General Rob Bonta. 鈥淎fter a detailed analysis, DOJ concluded there was substantial evidence that officers (Isaiah) Galvez and Tabela acted in self-defense, and in the defense of others.鈥�
The two LAPD officers fatally shot Sova less than a block from the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars are normally presented, and near the famed corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
鈥淢an, why?鈥� Tabela could be heard asking Sova before the officer fruitlessly began performing CPR.
Although Bonta's office cleared the officers, it recommended that the LAPD make sure officers are trained on calling in the department's Mental Evaluation Unit and review whether Sova's death 鈥渃ould have been avoided.鈥�
The initial call to LAPD said Sova was 鈥渁cting crazy and loudly saying a bunch of different things.鈥� He'd had 12 previous contacts with law enforcement related to his mental health, 10 of them with the LAPD Mental Health Unit.
Using other means 鈥渢o address a potential mental health crisis ... may have given the officers time to engage in meaningful de-escalation," the review found. In this case, 鈥渂oth officers transitioned to a lethal response almost immediately upon arriving at the scene."
State lawmakers in 2020 required the attorney general to decide whether police violated the law in cases where civilians die. Previously, local prosecutors usually made those decisions, but legislators were spurred by nationwide outrage over killings by police and concerns that county district attorneys could be too close to local law enforcement agencies they work with on a daily basis.
shifting investigations to the state took effect on July 1, 2021, just days before the Walk of Fame shooting.
Bonta announced the investigations on July 7, 2021. Under those procedures, the department's California Police Shooting Investigation Team for Southern California went to the scene as soon as it was notified of the shooting by the Los Angeles Police Department. The team sent its report to the department鈥檚 Special Prosecutions Section for a decision on whether officers broke the law.
In this case, investigators interviewed seven emergency workers and 13 civilian witnesses. They also reviewed other evidence including video from surveillance cameras and cameras worn by the officers.
He said the department's goal is to complete reviews within a year, and this first investigation took longer than he wanted. But he said the results of the 24 other cases currently under review should now come more quickly as investigators have become more comfortable in their approach.
Bonta co-authored the law when he was in the state Assembly. It was narrowed from a broader version that would have allowed local officials to also request state investigations where armed suspects were killed. That change came after Bonta鈥檚 predecessor as attorney general raised concerns about the cost and workload. And it doesn鈥檛 apply to deaths other than by shootings.
鈥淭his effort is personal for me. I鈥檝e heard firsthand the hurt and the pain that so many families and communities feel in the moments after these incidents. I鈥檝e witnessed the lack of trust," Bonta said. He said moving responsibility to the state provides 鈥渁 chance to insert more transparency and accountability into these investigations.鈥�
The law leaves it to local law enforcement agencies to review whether officer followed departmental procedures or if there is any civil liability, as well as review any suspected crime that may have led to the shooting.
Don Thompson, The Associated Press
