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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministrative Memo_RedactedMemo To: Acting Chief of Police Carlos Rojas via Chain of Command From: Sergeant Michael Claborn Date: August 7, 2013 Santa Ana Police Department Professional Standards Re: Officer Involved Shooting -Officer Gary Ayala #3294 Officer Saul Esquivel #3295 Professional Standards Division File Number: OIS #2013-06 SUMMARY On June 23, 2013 at approximately 0800 Officer Esquivel was met by Officer Ayala, with the intention of conducting a patrol check of the 800 block of South Townsend Street. Both officers agreed to drive southbound at the same time and see if anyone would run from one officer, to the other. The plan was for Officer Esquivel to drive southbound on Townsend Street , from Manta Vista Avenue to McFadden Avenue. Officer Ayala planned on driving southbound in the east alley of Townsend Street, between Manta Vista Avenue and McFadden Avenue. Both officers made one pass southbound and met up in the east / west alley between Townsend Street and Raitt Street, just north of McFadden Avenue. Officer Ayala told Officer Esquivel that he found two open garages; one slightly open and one completely open with occupants inside. Both officers decided to drive up to each of the garages and make contact with any occupants. Officer Esquivel was the lead vehicle as both officers drove up to the first slightly open garage, in the east/ west alley. Officer Esquivel spoke to the occupants of the garage from his vehicle and decided there was no need to exit his vehicle. Since only Officer Ayala knew how far north the second garage was, he pulled into the lead position. Officer Ayala led the way as both officers drove northbound in the east alley of Townsend Avenue, between Manta Vista Avenue and McFadden Avenue. Once Officer Ayala's vehicle was in a position where he co uld see the open garage, he stopped and parked (805 S. Townsend Avenue). Officer Ayala exited his vehicle and walked toward the open garage. As Officer Ayala was half way across the alley, a female stepped out from the open garage, holding what appeared to be a handgun in her right hand . Page2 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 Officer Ayala recognized the suspect as Jessica Gonzalez, a wanted homicide suspect out of the city of Orange . Officer Ayala immediately stepped to his left in an attempt to use the east wall of the open garage as temporary cover while he drew his duty weapon. Gonzalez ran toward Officer Ayala, prompting him to draw and fire his weapon. Officer Ayala fired at the suspect as he moved southbound in the alley toward a better position of cover. Officer Esquivel was walking northbound in the alley, along the west wall when he heard Officer Ayala yell gun. Officer Esquivel then saw a female run into his field of view, toward his partner. Officer Esquivel fired his weapon at Gonzalez, who fell in the alley. Gonzalez was transported to U.C. Irvine Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead at 0855 hours. INVOLVED OFFICERS Officer Gary Ayala #3294 Field Operations Bureau -Southcoast District W1 Days Off: Tuesday -Friday Date of Hire: Officer Saul Esquivel #3295 Field Operation Bureau -Southcoast District W1 Days Off: Tuesday -Friday Date of Hire: SUSPECT Jessica Gonzalez DOB: CDL: F/Hispanic, 5-5, 110 pounds SAPD Arrests : Page 3 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Outside Agency Arrests : RELATED CASE NUMBERS Santa Ana Police Department case number: 2013-17 495 (Detective Leo Rodriguez) District Attorney case number-SA 13-15 (D.A. Investigator Brad Tanner) Orange County Sheriffs Department Forensic case number -FR 13-48764 Orange County Coroner case number -13-02615-BB EVIDENCE 1. Watch Commander's OIS Checklist, completed by Commander Paulson 2. CAD printout of Incident History, #P130609612 3. Sketch of OIS scene prepared by Sergeant Claborn 4 . Copy of SAPD Crime-Arrest Report, by Detective Wilson 5. Copy of Supplemental Reports, completed by the following personnel: Detective Cabrera #2385 Officer Aguilar #3024 Sergeant Gonza le z #2593 Detecti ve Launi #1628 Detective Gomez #2706 FS-I Correa #1904 Detective Rodriguez #2408 Detecti ve Rodriguez #2836 Officer Greave r #3057 Officer Tolosa #2353 Officer Esparza #3164 Officer Fernandez #3303 Detecti ve Wilson #3023 Officer Fahrney #3197 Officer Lim #2984 Officer Montiel #2569 Detective McLeod #2770 Officer Ribeiro #3224 Corporal Enriquez #2333 Officer J. Guidry #2877 Detect ive Flores #2884 Officer Granados #3166 Officer S. Martinez #3267 Sergeant Craft #2979 Officer Price #3193 Officer Delqadillo #2322 Sergeant Rivera #2053 Officer Menendez #2595 Corporal Mendoza #2934 6. Copy of OCFA Incident reports . 7. Police Records search of Jessica Gonzalez 8. Weapons Inspection memorandum by Rangemaster Huffman 9. Photographs of Scene along with a CD containing the individual photos 10. A CD containing the Professional Standards interviews of Officer Ayala and Officer Esquivel 11. A CD containing Green-One radio transmissions 12. Communications Master Tape Page 4 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 INVESTIGATION On June 23, 2013, at approximately 0822 hours, I received a telephone call from Commander Revere advising me that an officer involved shooting had just occurred and I was directed to respond to conduct the administrative investigation. 0945 Hours Sergeant Gonzalez and I responded to the Watch Commander's Office and met with Commander Paulson, who provided me with the original Officer Involved Shooting Checklist and the following information: On June 23, 2013, at 0809 hours, Corporal Bonilla advised him that an officer involved shooting had just occurred at 800 S. Townsend Street. He then began monitoring the police radio and learned that Officer Esquivel was involved. Officer Esquivel advised that one suspect was injured and two other suspects were outstanding. As the officers were coordinating the capture of the two outstanding suspects, he heard officers advise that they were "Code 4" in the garage at 0814 hours. Commander Paulson said he later learned that Officers Ayala #3294 and Esquivel #3295 were involved in the shooting. The female suspect was struck by the officer's gunfire and was transported to U .C . Irvine Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries at 0855 hours. 1034 Hours I responded to the scene of the officer involved shooting, at 805 S. Townsend Street. I arrived at 1034 hours and checked in with Officer Ribeiro #3224 who was the scene scribe. At approximately 1050 hours, Sergeant Craft #2979 conducted a scene briefing and provided the following information : At approximately 0807 hours Officers Esquivel and Ayala were involved in an officer involved shooting, in the east alley of 805 S. Townsend Street (garage #1 ). The public safety statement given was that the officers involved fired 1 O to 12 rounds in a northern and western direction . Approximately 20 shell casings were located in the alley. Both officers were conducting a routine patrol check when they were involved in the shooting. The female suspect fell to the ground in the alley and a toy replica handgun was found four feet away. A "loaded" syringe was located on the suspect's person. Multipl e unidentified subjects fled the scene . A perimeter was set up and the two unidentified subjects, believed to be witnesses, were not located. Internal File # OIS 2013-06 Orange County Fire Authority, Engine #73 , responded to the scene and provided medical treatment. Care ambulance #299 also responded and transported the suspect to U.C. Irvine Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 0855 hours. Page 5 SCENE DESCRIPTION The incident occurred during the hours of daylight. The weather condition at the time of the incident was overcast skies, calm winds, and temperatures approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather was obtained from the AccuWeather website. I created a rough sketch of the area . 1129 hours I cleared the shooting scene. 1240 Hours OCSD Forensic Specialist Camacho responded to the Professional Standards Office to conduct the processing of the weapons and photographing of the officers and their equipment. 1245 Hours Officer Ayala, Officer Esquivel and POA Attorney David Goldwasser responded to the Professional Standards Office. FS Camacho counted the rounds in the officers' weapons and magazines. FS Camacho collected the officers' handguns , magazines and rounds for forensic testing . Present during the processing of Officer Ayala and Officer Esquivel was Sergeant Gonzalez, Detective Cabrera , Detective McLeod , POA Attorney and OCDA Investigator Tanner. Sergeant Gonzalez provided Officer Ayala and Officer Esquivel with replacement weapons, magazines and ammunition. OFFICER ESQUIVEL'$ WEAPON/ EQUIPMENT/ UNIFORM 1248 Hours Primary Weapon Used During Incident Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Glock Model 21 -.45 Caliber: Serial #HAY924, equipped with Stream Light TLR-1 tactical light (C4-3525050912) One 13 round magazine Condition: One round in chamber and one in the inserted magazine Additional magazines: two -13 round magazines, each loaded with 12 rounds * All rounds -Winchester .45 caliber Page 6 Holster: Department authorized Designed for the use of the M3 Tactical llluminator Uniform: Blue department issued wool uniform pants and short-sleeved shirt. SAPD patches located on the shoulders and a metal SAPD officers badge on the left chest. Name plate located on the right chest. Duty Gear: A leather duty belt with duty issued holster and weapon with tactical light located on his right side, single handcuff case, pepper spray container and holder, X26 Taser (Serial #X00-660726), pacset and holder, ASP baton and holder, magazine case containing two .45 caliber magazines and black duty boots. Additional Weapons None Processing ended at 1306 hours. INTERVIEW OF OFFICER ESQUIVEL #3295 On June 23 , 2013, at approximately 1357 hours, Inspector Gonzalez and I conducted a digitally recorded interview of Officer Saul Esquivel in interview room #2 of the Professional Standards Office. Also present during the interview was Santa Ana Police Officers' Association Attorney . I read Officer Esquivel the Officer Involved Shooting Advisement and he said he understood. I read him the Lybarger Admonishment and he invoked his right to remain silent pursuant to Miranda. I then ordered Officer Esquivel to answer my questions related to this administrative investigation. The following is a summary of the interview: Officer Esquivel has been a police officer for approximately eight years, six months of which has been with the Santa Ana Police Department. Prior to working at the Santa Internal File # OIS 2013-06 Ana Police Department, Officer Esquivel worked for the San Fernando Police Department. Officer Esquivel's shift on June 23 , 2013 was from 0530 hours to 1800 hours. He stated he was wearing the uniform and equipment described above under Officer's Weapon / Equipment / Uniform section of this report. He was not carrying a backup weapon or a recording device. I asked Officer Esquivel if he responded to any calls for service prior to the shooting and he said he did. I asked him if any of those calls were unusual in any way and he said no. Officer Esquivel responded to a call for service of a parking violation on Mark Street, just west of Townsend Street. While still at the call , Officer Esquivel was met by Officer Gary Ayala #3294. Both officers decided to conduct a patrol check on Townsend Street and Officer Esquivel created the incident. The plan was for Officer Ayala to drive southbound in the alley, east of Townsend Street and south of Manta Vista Avenue. Officer Esquivel was going to parallel Officer Ayala as they made their way south. Page? Both officers met up on Townsend Street, just north of McFadden Avenue. Officer Ayala told Officer Esquivel that he noticed two open garages in the alley that he wanted to check out. The officers drove through the alley and stopped adjacent to the first open garage. Officer Esquivel spoke to the occupants of the garage, one of whom identified himself as the resident. The male subject was able to provide his address for that complex so Officer Esquivel decided to move on to the next garage. Officer Ayala moved into the lead position as both officers continued driving northbound in the alley. Officer Ayala stopped his vehicle just short of where the second open garage was located and exited his vehicle. Officer Esquivel exited his vehicle and observed Officer Ayala approaching what he believed was an open garage door. Officer Esquivel pointed out to us that his vantage point was in a northbound direction as he walked toward the opening where the garage door was located . Whereas Officer Ayala's vantage point was more a westbound direction as he walked toward the garage door. The reason Officer Esquivel said he assumed the garage door was open, was because Officer Ayala informed him that he saw an open garage door in the alley when he drove through just minutes ago. As Officer Ayala got close to the garage door, Officer Esquivel heard his partner yell , "Gun, Gun, Gun!" Officer Esquivel noticed that Officer Ayala's voice was very thin and high pitched as he yell ed. Officer Ayala turned and began to move away from the garage as he shot over his left shoulder. Officer Esquivel estimated that he was approximately 15 feet south of the opening where the garage door was located. Page 8 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 A female appeared in Officer Esquivel's view and was moving toward Officer Ayala as he was shooting and yelling , "Gun , Gun, Gun!" The female suspect appeared as if she were chasing Officer Ayala. Officer Esquivel said, "I was in fear for his life at that point and I engaged the female with my service weapon." Officer Esquivel stated that the female suspect collapsed in the middle of the alley. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala relayed to him if there were any occupants in either of the open garages and he said yes. I explained to Officer Esquivel that there are two alleys that T-intersect, east of Townsend Street and just north of McFadden Avenue. I asked Officer Esquivel if he met Officer Ayala in the east / west alley, before they went to check the open garages. Officer Esquivel said he drove southbound Townsend Street and then made an eastbound turn into an alley. I asked Officer Esquivel who was the lead vehicle as they made their way northbound . Officer Esquivel was the lead vehicle initially, until they reached the first open garage. Once at the first open garage, Officer Esquivel spoke to a couple occupants from his vehicle, through his open driver's side front window. Officer Ayala took the lead position as they drove toward the second open garage. They did this so they could stop short of the cutout on the west side of the alley. I asked Officer Esquivel to estimate how many buildings north was the second open garage from the first open garage and he said approximately three . I asked Officer Esquivel if he could see anyone standing outside the second open garage from the first open garage. Officer Esquivel said no, because the first open garage was located in the east I west alley before they turned to go northbound. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala stopped his vehicl e just south of the open garage door and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if he exited his car at the same time as Officer Ayala and he said no, just moments after. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala immediately yelled gun as he turned the corner toward the open garage door, or was th ere some lag time. Officer Esquivel said that Office r Ayala yell ed gun immediately as he rounded the corner. I asked Officer Esquivel how far he was from Officer Ayala when he heard him yell gun . Officer Esquive l estimated the distance to be between 10 to 15 feet. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala ran toward him as he ran away from the open garage door. Officer Esquivel said that Officer Ayala ran eastbound, toward the police vehicle that he had just exited. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala ran around the front of his vehicle or the rear and he said the front. Insp ector Gon za lez asked Offi ce r Esquivel if he and his partner were hugging the east sid e of th e alley as they drove north a nd he said yes. Pag e 9 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 I showed Officer Esquivel a hand drawn sketch that I made of the alley where the shooting occurred. I informed Officer Esquivel that the sketch was not to scale. I asked Officer Esquivel if the sketch was more or less how he remembered the alley at the time of the shooting and he said yes. I pointed out that the lead vehicle in the alley was unit 880 and the second vehicle was unit 854. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala was in vehicle 880 and if he was in vehicle 854 and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala ran toward the front of unit 880 and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala was right or left handed and he said right. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala was shooting with his right hand over his left should as he ran eastbound and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if he was able to tell if the garage door was open or closed at the point that he saw Officer Ayala running eastbound and he said no. I asked Officer Esquivel if he could see if the suspect was armed at the time he made the decision to engage her with deadly force and he said no. I asked Officer Esquivel if he could see what his partner did after running around the front of unit 880 and he said no . Officer Esquivel said that he took up a position of cover south of the open garage and looked to left and saw Officer Ayala to the rear of unit 854. I asked Officer Esquivel at what point he transitioned from the door jamb of unit 854 to the west side of the alley. He said that occurred while Officer Ayala was approaching the mouth of the garage. I asked Officer Esquivel if there was anything between him and the suspect at the time she entered his view and he said he did n't think so. I asked Officer Esquivel if he was focused on the suspect or his partner when the suspect entered his view. Officer Esquivel said he was focused on the suspect, therefore , he didn't see what his partner did after rounding the front of unit 880. I asked Officer Esquivel what position the suspect was in at the time Officer Ayala rounded the front of unit 880. Officer Esquivel said she was approximately in the middle of the alley. I asked Officer Esquivel to estim ate her location in relation to one of the police vehicles in th e alley. Offi ce r Esquivel said she was northwest of unit 854. I asked Officer Esquivel if the suspect was saying or doing anything when she was in the middle of th e a ll ey. Officer Esquivel said she was lying on her chest, with her right hand concealed under her chest or abdominal area. I asked Officer Esquivel to back up to the point that he decided to use force. I asked him what she was doing at that moment. Officer Esquivel said the suspect was moving quickly toward Offi cer Ayal a as he is running away, yelling gun and shooting in the suspect's direction . It was at that point that Officer Esquivel made the decision to engage the suspect with dead ly force , who was in the middle of the alley running toward Officer Ayala. Internal File# OIS 2013-06 I asked Officer Esquivel if he knew his exact position at the time that he fired his weapon. Officer Esquivel said he knew he was in the alley, but he couldn't tell me if he was closer to his car or closer to the west wall of the alley. I asked Officer Esquivel if he could tell from his vantage point if Officer Ayala was shooting at the suspect when he fired his weapon. Officer Esquivel said that he couldn't tell initially, because at the time Officer Ayala fired his first round, the female wasn't in his field of view. It was a split second later that the female came into his view. Once the female suspect went down, Officer Esquivel remembered seeing a couple males poking their heads out of the garage and looking down the alley toward him. I asked Officer Esquivel if he could see the direction that his partner was firing his weapon. Officer Esquivel said that Officer Ayala was firing in the direction of the mouth of the garage. I asked Officer Esquivel if that was the same direction that he saw the female come from and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if he would expect a suspect to run toward an officer shooting at them or away from them. Officer Esquivel said he would normally expect them to run away from the gunfire. However, he was aware of a situation at his previous agency when the suspect ran toward the officer. In that instance the suspect wanted to commit "suicide by cop" and ran toward the officers. I asked Officer Esquivel to define what the term "suicide by cop" meant to him . Officer Esquivel said that he defined it as a person that can't kill themselves so they have the police do it for them. I asked Officer Esquivel if he was aware of any occasions where a suspect would run at an officer who is firing at them, other than "suicide by cop" and he said no . I asked Officer Esquivel if it heightened his sense of awareness when he saw the female suspect running at a police officer who was firing at her and he said yes it did . I asked Officer Esquivel what was going through his mind when he saw that. He said he thought the female suspect was going to shoot Officer Ayala. I asked Officer Esquivel if that was the time that he decided to use deadly force and he said yes, he drew his firearm and fired at the suspect. I asked Officer Esquivel what direction his rounds traveled and he said northbound. I asked Officer Esquivel how many rounds he would estimate he fired. Attorney asked Officer Esquivel to estimate that number based solely on what he remembered at that time, not based on any round count that may have occurred subsequent to the shooting. Officer Esquivel estimated approximately four rounds. I asked Officer Esquivel to explain what he thought was going to happen between the suspect and his partner as she was running toward him . Officer Esquivel said, "Based on the loud pitch of his voice . Him yelling , 'Gun!' Him running away really quickly trying to get away. And me seeing the female running after Officer Ayala . I thought that she was potentially going to shoot Ayala." I asked Officer Esquivel if he's ever worked with Page10 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Officer Ayala before and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if he's ever heard Officer Ayala speak in a normal tone of voice before and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel if he had heard Officer Ayala speak in that tone of voice before, when he yelled gun and he said no. I asked Officer Esquivel if that was a factor when he was coming to a decision as to what type of force to use. Officer Esquivel said that was definitely taken into consideration. I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala was walking or running east bound toward his car and he said running. I asked Officer Esquivel to describe what he sa w in relation to Officer Ayala running; meaning was he running as fast as he could or was he jogging . Officer Esquivel said, "I perceived that he was trying to get away that mouth of the garage as quickly as he could . Um, just because the way he was moving , the way he was aiming his gun. He wasn 't even ... he wasn 't really taking aim at whatever was coming out of that garage or from that direction. It was just like ... almost like a quick reaction from him to lay down some fire and to get away from there and seek some cover." I asked Officer Esquivel if Officer Ayala's actions led him to belie ve that the threat was in front of the open garage and he said yes . I asked Officer Esquivel if he could see if the rounds that Officer Ayala fired , hit the suspect and he said he couldn't tell. I asked Officer Esquivel if the suspect was moving toward Officer Ayala at the moment that he used deadly force and he said yes. Inspector Gonzalez had Officer Esquivel make red and blue marks on the map to indicate the positions and movements of the officers and the suspect. Officer Esquivel used blue to indicate the locations and movement of the officers and red to indicate the location and movement of the suspect. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esqui vel what the suspect was doing , saying or carrying when she entered his field of view. Officer Esquivel said she was running into the alley and he didn 't see her holding anything and he didn't hear her say anyth ing. Attorney asked Officer Esquivel what type of view he had of the suspect (frontal, profile or back). Officer Esquivel said he had a right side profile view. Inspector Gonzale z asked Offi cer Esquivel if he's patrolled that area before and he said yes. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what he knows about th at area. Officer Esquivel said that a juve nile was stabbed in that area two nights before and that would le ad him to believe that th ere 's a gang problem in the area . Insp ecto r Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he ever lost sight of his partner and he said yes, when Officer Esquivel w as engaging the suspect. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he ever lost sight of his pa rtner to the west a nd he said no. Page 11 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what his stress level was as he saw his partner retreating and firing over his shoulder while yelling gun. Officer Esquivel said, "It was pretty stressful. I mean, I knew my partner was engaging a threat. I couldn't. .. I didn't have a visual of the threat. I didn't know where it was going to come from. In my mind, I was just. .. I was expecting to hear the exchange of gunfire that I never heard . And seconds later I see her running after Ayala into the alley. And then, in my mind, I said okay well the threats got to be there. He's seen something, he 's engaged it already and now I have to address the threat." Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel, what threat did he perceived from the female suspect. Officer Esquivel said, "That my partner's life was in immediate danger and if I didn't respond appropriately his life would be in danger." Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he knew if any of the shots he fired, struck the suspect. Officer Esquivel said he didn't know. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what happened after the suspect went down. Officer Esquivel saw two males poking their heads around the corner, from the open garage and looking southbound in the alley. Officer Esquivel moved fifteen feet and took up a position of cover around the comer of the west wall of the alley. Attorney Goldwasser asked Officer Esquivel why he moved to the position of cover. Officer Esquivel said that the two males in the garage kept looking back at him and he didn't know why. He added that there were possibly additional suspects in the garage that could have engaged him and his partner. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what was going through his mind after he reached the position of cover. Officer Esquivel said he remembered hearing his partner yell, "She's still moving , she 's still moving and she 's got a gun." Officer Esquivel heard Officer Ayala yell that phrase twice. Officer Esquivel couldn't see the suspect's right hand , because it was under her body. It was at this time that Corporal Enriquez and a Park Ranger arrived on the scene. Two teams were organized , one to search the open garage (Corporal Enriquez & Officer Ayala) and one to secure the suspect (Officer Esquivel & unknown officer). Officer Esquivel handcuffed the suspect and rolled her to one side as he looked for the weapon. Officer Esquivel discovered a replica handgun under the suspect's chest area, which he kicked a couple feet away from the suspect. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he remember the positioning of the suspect's hand as she ran toward Officer Ayala. Officer Esquivel said he didn't remember her hand positioning , but knows that he didn't see a gun. Inspector Gonzalez asked if Officer Esquivel heard the suspect say anything as she ran after Officer Ayala and he said he didn't hear anything . Page1 2 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 I asked Officer Esquivel if he believed the suspect was armed. Officer Esquivel said , based on what he saw and heard , he believed the suspect was armed. I asked Officer Esquivel what he was basing that on. Officer Esquivel said, "I was basing that on Officer Ayala's reaction. Him quickly trying to get away from the mouth of that garage, him firing his weapon, the high pitch of his ... you know the tone of his voice was really high pitched. He screamed 'Gun, Gun, Gun' and then when we got back towards ... you know just south of the garage he continually said 'She's got a gun, she's got a gun and she's still moving . She's in the alley'." I asked Officer Esquivel what type of weapon he believed the suspect was in possession of and he said a gun . Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if the suspect was aware of his position. Officer Esquivel said he didn't think the suspect knew he was there. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he made any announcements to the suspect and he said no. I asked Officer Esquivel if he heard rounds being fired from Officer Ayala before he engaged the suspect and he said yes. I asked Officer Esquivel to estimate the number of rounds that were fired by Officer Ayala and he said six or seven. I asked Officer Esquivel if those six or seven rounds were multiple volleys of rounds or one volley and he said one volley. I asked Officer Esquivel if he started to engage the suspect before or after that volley of six or seven rounds ended. Officer Esquivel said he didn't remember. I asked Officer Esquivel if he remembered hearing a second volley of rounds from Officer Ayala subsequent to the first volley and he said yes . I asked Officer Esquivel how many rounds he heard Officer Ayala fire during the second volley and he said two or three. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if the rounds he fired fell during the first volley of rounds from Officer Ayala, the second volley of rounds from Officer Ayala or somewhere in between. Officer Esquivel said that he fired within the first volley of rounds from Officer Ayala. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what he or Officer Ayala was doing in between the two volleys from Officer Ayala. Officer Esquivel said that he was retreating to a position of cover and he heard Officer Ayala yell that she had a gun and she was still moving. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he fired a second volley of rounds and he said no. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel if he knew what his backdrop was during the shooting. Officer Esquivel said there was a green dumpster on the west side of the alley and clear in the rest of the alley. Inspector Gonzalez asked what the lighting was like and he said daylight. Inspector Gonzalez noted that Officer Esquivel was wearing glasses at the time of the interview and wanted to know if he was wearing them at the time of the shooting. Officer Esquivel said he was wearing his glasses at the time of the shooting . Inspector Gonzalez asked if the glasses are tinted and Officer Esquivel said no, they have clear lenses, not transitional lenses. Page 13 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Inspector Gonzalez asked if Officer Esquivel has ever worked with Officer Ayala in the past and he said yes. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Esquivel what capacity that was that they worked together. Officer Esquivel said that he was Officer Ayala's training officer at their prior agency, San Fernando PD. I concluded the interview with Officer Esquivel at approximately 1502 hours. OFFICER AYALA'S WEAPON/ EQUIPMENT/ UNIFORM 1313 Hours Primary Weapon Used During Incident Glock Model 22 -40 Caliber: Serial #LXN640 equipped with Stream Light TLR-1 tactical light (C4-3525650912) One 15 round magazine Condition: One round in chamber and seven in the inserted magazine Additional magazines: two -15 round magazines fully loaded *All rounds -Winchester .40 caliber Holster: Department authorized Designed for the use of the M3 Tactical llluminator Uniform: Blue department issued wool uniform pants and short-sleeve shirt. SAPD patches located on the shoulders and a metal SAPD officers badge on the left chest. Name plate located on the right chest. Duty Gear: A leather duty belt with duty issued holster and weapon with a tactical light located on his right side, two single handcuff cases, pepper spray container and holder, pacset and holder with lapel microphone attached to center of chest, baton ring with baton, magazine case containing two .40 caliber magazines, knife in the left sap pant pocket, black gloves in right sap pocket, hush key keeper, metal clip, and black duty boots. Additional Weapons Smith & Wesson Model Bodyguard 380 -.380 Caliber Serial #EBT0446 1 round of unspent .380 caliber ammunition in the chamber 6 rounds of unspent .380 caliber ammunition in the magazine * All ammunition -Hornaday .38 0 Auto Page1 4 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Located in a Blackhawk size 3 holster in left rear pants pocket Processing ended at 1333 hours. INTERVIEW OF OFFICER AYALA #3294 On June 23, 2013, at approximately 1511 hours, Sergeant Jose Gonzalez #2593 and I conducted a digitally recorded interview of Officer Gary Ayala #3294 in interview room #2 of the Professional Standards office. Present during the interview was Santa Ana Police Officers' Association Attorney . I read Officer Ayala the Officer Involved Shooting Advisement and he said he understood . I read him the Lybarger Admonishment and he invoked his right to remain silent pursuant to Miranda. I then ordered Officer Ayala to answer my questions related to this administrative investigation . The following is a summary of the interview with Officer Ayala: I asked Officer Ayala how many years of law enforcement experience he had and he said two years with the city of San Fernando and approximately seven months with the city of Santa Ana . Officer Ayala's shift was from 0530 hours to 1800 hours in the Southcoast District. I asked Officer Ayala if the uniform and equipment he was wearing at the time of the interview was the uniform and equipment he was wearing at the time of the shooting and he said yes. I asked Officer Ayala if he was carrying a back-up weapon at the time of the shooting and he said yes. I asked Officer Ayala where he carried that weapon and he said his left rear pants pocket. I asked Offi cer Ayala what kind of weapon it was and he said a Smith & Wesson Bod yguard .380 caliber handgun . I asked Officer Ayala if he used that weapon during the shooting and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala if he was carrying a recording device on him at the time of the shooting and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala if he handled any calls for servi ce before the shooting incident and he said yes. I asked Officer Ayala if any of those calls were unusual or out of the ordina ry in any way and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala to explain to me how he ended up in that alley on th e day of the shooting. Officer Ayala said he typed a message to Officer Esquivel , via th e KOT, wanting to meet up . Office r Esquivel responded that he was at the 600 bloc k of South Townsend Street and Officer Ayala typed th at he wo uld meet him there. Upon meeting up with Officer Esquivel , they both decided to go out on a patrol check on South Town send Street. The plan w as for Office r Ayala to drive southbound in the ea st alley of 600 S. Towns end Street and for Officer Esquivel to drive southbound on 600 S. Townsend Street, at the same time . As Officer Ayala w as driving southbo und in th e east all ey, he observed an ope n garage on the we st sid e of the alley, with a ppro xim ately four Page1 s Internal File# OIS 2013-06 occupants inside. The occupants all looked Hispanic and they appeared to be drinking beers. I asked Officer Ayala if he was aware of any criminal activity in that alley, and if so, what kind . Officer Ayala said he is aware of criminal activity in that alle y , to include drug use and various types of gang related crimes. I asked Officer Ayala if he got the impression that the open garage might be gang related and he said yes . Officer Ayala felt that way due to how the occupants in the garage were dressed and the fact that there was graffiti inside the garage. One of the male occupants waved at Officer Ayala as he drove southbound in the alley, past the garage. Officer Ayala met up with Officer Esquivel in the alley, just north of McFadden Avenue . Officer Ayala told Officer Esquivel that he observed two open garages in the alley. One of the garages was close to the T-intersection of the alleys , just north of McFadden Avenue, while the other garage was further north. Officers Esquivel and Ayala headed toward the first open garage, which he quickly deemed to be "code-4". Both officers started driving northbound in the alley, with Officer Esquivel following Officer Ayala . Officer Ayala said he was driving slowly, because he knew the second open garage was near the middle of the alley, but he didn't know exactly which opening it would be. Officer Ayala stopped at each of the openings he passed, to make sure it wasn 't the opening that had the open garage . The third opening he passed on the west side of the alley had the open garage. Officer Ayala 's vehicle was facing northbound, just as the opening to th e garage faces northbound. As Officer Ayala looked to the west, he couldn 't see very much of the interior of the garage. Once Officer Ayala saw the open garag e, he placed his vehicle in park and exited the car. Offi cer Ayala was half way across th e alley when a female walked out of the garage holding what appeared to be a silver semi-automatic handgun. The female, later identified as Jessica Go nzalez, was holding the handgun near her fa ce / chest area, which prompted Offi cer Ayal a to yell, "Gun!" Office r Ayala said he wa s exposed in th e alley and immediately tried to move to a position of co ver. He drew his duty weapon and moved to his left , in an attempt to use the east wall of the garage as temporary cover, until he could get to a bette r position of cover. Gonzal ez was only five f eet from Offi cer Ayala and holding what he believed to be a silve r semi-a utomatic handgun . Officer Ayala said , "As soon as I saw the gun I said okay she's got the drop on me, she's going to shoot me right now. I'm exposed , I'm in the alley, I'm scared for my safety." Officer Aya la fired his duty w ea pon as he Page 16 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 moved to a better position of cover. Officer Ayala said he attempted to fire through the east garage wall in an attempt to hit Gonzalez before she could get off a shot on him. Officer Ayala ran to Officer Esquivel 's vehicle , which he said was closest position of cover he could find . Officer Ayala remembered getting to Officer Esquivel's vehicle and then seeing Gonzalez run out into the alley. Once in the alley, Gonzalez fell to the ground and Officer Ayala continued shooting . A male Hispanic with a bald head popped his head out of the garage and around the corner. Officer Ayala communicated to Officer Esquivel that there were multiple suspects still in the garage. Officer Ayala told Officer Esquivel to cover him while he moved to a better position of co ver. Officer Ayala moved from behind Officer Esquivel 's car to a position of cover behind a garage wall located on the east side of the alley. Officer Ayala said he heard Officer Esquivel broadcast that they had been involved in a 998 at the 800 block of S. Townsend. Officer Ayala said he got on the radio and broadcasted that they had been involved in a 998 and they were in the east alley of 800 S. Townsend and asked units to respond northbound in the alley. Officer Ayala noticed that Officer Esquivel was standing behind a dumpster fo r cover. He also noticed that there was a pedestrian gate on the west side of the alley , which could allow for othe r suspect's to double back and potentially surround the officers. Officer Ayala was in the process of communicating to Officer Esquivel that he should move to a better position of cover when the Santa Ana park ranger arrived at the scene. Both Officer Ayala and Officer Esquivel move d to the park ranger's vehicle and waited for additional Santa An a Police Department units to arrive. Officer Ayala added that he could still see Gonzalez moving around as all the coordinating was being done . Once enough officers were on scene , a team was put together to go up and clear the garage and place Gonzalez in handcuffs. I showed Officer Ayala a sketch that I drew and asked him if it refreshed his re collection of the scene a nd he said yes. I reminded Officer Ayal a that the sketch was not to scale and he said he understood. I asked Officer Ayala how many people he initially saw in the garage and he said four. I asked Officer Ayala if he had seen any of those four people before, based on what he could see from his car at that moment and he said no. I a sked Officer Ayal a if he communicated with his partner that he located the open garage at the time that he exited his car. Officer Ayala said no, be cau se th ey had a plan before they started to drive northbound in the alley th at Officer Ayala would stop once he found the open garage. Attorney asked Officer Ayala what kind of ve hi cles he and his partner w ere driving that day and he said marked bl ack and white police vehicles with a red & blue light bar on top. Page1 1 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 I asked Officer Ayala what path he took from his vehicle toward the open garage. Officer Ayala said he walked directly toward the open garage door and after taking a few steps from his unit , he saw Gonzalez pop out from the garage holding the handgun in her right hand. I asked Officer Ayala if he could see Gonzalez at the time that he exited his unit and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala how close he was to the east wall of the garage at the time Gonzalez came into his view. Officer Ayala said he was approximately five to ten feet from the wall. I asked Officer Ayala if his path toward the garage changed so that he could see Gonzalez or did her path change as she came into his view. Officer Ayala said that Gonzalez moved out of the garage and into his view. I asked Officer Ayala to describe the body motions that he made as he indicated that Gonzalez moved into his field of view. Officer Ayala said Gonzalez was holding a gun in her right hand , up close to her face and pointing it in an upward direction. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala what direction Gonzalez was facing when he first saw her and Officer Ayala said eastbound, toward him. I asked Officer Ayala if his interpretation was that Gonzalez was looking at him. Officer Ayala said, "She was looking straight at me, she saw me." I asked Officer Ayala if there was any doubt in his mind and he said, "No doubt." I asked Officer Ayala what he did next and he mentioned that he recognized Gonzalez as the wanted 187 suspect from the city of Orange . Officer Ayala said day watch had training during roll call in reference to Gonzalez and stated that she was wanted for a 187 CPC / 245 CPC, was armed and known to frequent the city of Santa Ana. I asked Officer Ayala if he recognized Gonzalez as the 187 suspect as soon as she stepped out from the garage. Officer Ayala said that she stepped out; he saw the threat and figured out it was her all at the same time. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala to talk about Gonzalez's stance as she exited the garage. Officer Ayala said, "She was going to present that weapon and point it towards me, that's what I felt. She was in a .. .facing directly at me, as you would if you were to face a target that you wanted to shoot." Officer Ayala added that he moved as soon as he processed what he was seeing Gonzalez do; holding a handgun and moving toward him. Inspector Gonzalez asked how the training was given in roll call, regarding Gonzalez. Officer Ayala said the sergeant conducting roll call passed out a flyer that had a picture, name and date of birth of Gonzalez. The sergeant also said that Gonzalez murdered a female, is still in possession of a .38 handgun and has family in the city of Santa Ana. I showed Officer Ayala a wanted flyer put out by the Orange Police Department and asked him if he recognized the person in the flyer. Officer Ayala immediately stated, Page18 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 "That's her." I asked Officer Ayala if the roll call sergeant read the synopsis to all of the officers and he said yes. I read the synopsis on the flyer to Officer Ayala and asked him if that sounded like the same information read by the roll call sergeant and he said yes. I explained to Officer Ayala that I wanted to dig into his mindset at the time he chose to pull the trigger. Officer Ayala said, "She's got the drop on me. She, she saw me. She's going to shoot me. I'm out in the open. I've got no cover. I felt that I was vulnerable at that time and I was scared for my safety. So I had to protect myself in self-defense and uh , you know, neutralize that threat and stop that threat from approaching me." I asked Officer Ayala if he had his weapon drawn at the time that he approached the garage and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala what type of call he thought he was walking into and he said a consensual encounter. As Officer Ayala was pulling the trigger of his gun he began to run in a southeasterly direction, toward Officer Esquivel's vehicle. As Officer Ayala was running , he had his right arm extended, out to his right, firing at the east wall of the garage. Once he reached Officer Esquivel's vehicle , Officer Ayala turned and was facing to the north, toward Gonzalez. Attorney asked Officer Ayala if he ever lost sight of Gonzalez. Officer Ayala said he did lose sight of her as he looked in the direction he was running , to make sure he didn't run into anything. I asked Offi cer Ayala how many rounds he estimated that he fired and he said 5 to 7 rounds. I asked Officer Ayala if he fired additional rounds once he reached Officer Esquivel's car and he said yes. I asked Officer Ayala how many rounds did he fire in the first volley and how many rounds did he fire in the second. Offi cer Ayala estimated that he fired three rounds at the east wall of the garage and two additional rounds once he was at the back of Officer Esquivel's unit. I asked Officer Ayala if Gonzalez was standing at th e time he fired the second volley of round s. Officer Ayala said Gonzal ez fell to the ground as he re ached the back of Officer Esquivel 's unit. Gonzalez started reaching for something with her left arm , which prompted Officer Ayala to fire the second volley of rounds . Officer Ayal a said he believed Gonzalez dropped the gun as she fell and was reaching for it to engage the officers with it. I asked Officer Ayala if he was in fear for his and his partner's safety and he said yes. I asked Officer Ayala to try to rem e mber back to wh en he fired the first rounds out of his weapon . I asked Officer Ayala if he kn ew where his partner was at that time and he Page 19 Internal File # OIS 2013-06 said no. Officer Ayala told me that the first time he remembered seeing his partner, once the shooting began, was at the back of Officer Esquivel's unit. I asked Officer Ayala if he remembered hearing his partner engage Gonzalez with gunfire. Officer Ayala said that he heard rounds being fired, but they were fired around the same time that he fired, so he couldn't differentiate whose rounds they were. I asked Officer Ayala if he communicated with his partner during the shooting and he said yes. Officer Ayala told me that he yelled "Gun!" one time in a very loud tone of voice . I asked Officer Ayala if there was any doubt Officer Esquivel heard him. Officer Ayala said, "He heard me!" After engaging Gonzalez a second time, Officer Ayala noticed a male suspect poke his head around the corner of the open garage and look toward them . Officer Ayala communicated to his partner that he wanted to move to a better position of cover since there were additional suspects in the garage. Officer Ayala asked Officer Esquivel to cover him while he moved and Officer Esquivel acknowledged Officer Ayala. While looking northbound, Officer Ayala moved southbound to a better position of cover on the east side of the alley. Once in position on the east side of the alley, Officer Ayala noticed that there was a pedestrian gate located behind (west of) Officer Esquivel's position. Officer Ayala said he recommended that they move further south . Before they could move, a Santa Ana park ranger arrived at the scene . Officer Ayala and Officer Esquivel moved back to a position of cover behind the park ranger's unit. Once enough units arrived at the scene, a search team and an arrest team were established. The search and arrest teams moved northbound on the east side of the alley toward the open garage. Once the teams reached the front of unit #854, Officer Ayala yelled that Gonzalez was still moving, her hands were underneath her and he couldn't see the gun. I asked Officer Ayala if he handcuffed the suspect and he said no, he was part of the search team. Officer Ayala, Corporal Enriquez and an additional unknown officer entered the garage and searched it. I asked if they found anyone in the garage and he said no. I asked Officer Ayala if he heard a broadcast requesting medics and he said yes . Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala what direction Gonzalez was facing as she fell to the ground and he said northbound , away from the officers. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala if he saw anything in her left hand as she reached out for something and he said no . Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala if he could see what Gonzalez was reaching for and he said no. Pag e 20 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala what the backdrop was during the first volley of rounds and he said multiple garages. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala what the lighting was like and he said daylight, but a little cloudy. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala if he was wearing any sunglasses or prescription glasses at the time of the shooting. Officer Ayala said no, he wears contact lenses. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala if he was wearing his contact lenses at the time of the shooting and he said yes. Inspector Gonzalez asked Officer Ayala if he considered using any other option of force after seeing what he saw at the time of the shooting. Officer Ayala said, "I had no other options. I had to use deadly force. The threat was right in front of me and if I hesitated , I'd probably be dead in the alley right now." I asked Officer Ayala to estimate the amount of time it took for him to exit his vehicle, upon arriving at the scene, to the time he was to the rear of Officer Esquivel's unit. Officer Ayala said less than ten seconds. I concluded the interview with Officer Ayala at approximately 1603 hours. RECOMMENDATION I recommend that this administrative report be forward for review and classification. Respectfully Submitted , ~~ Professional Standards Internal File# OIS 2013-06 Page 21 Internal File# OIS 2013-06 I have received a copy of this administrative report. Officer Gary Ayala #3294 Date I have received a copy of this administrative report. Officer Saul Esquivel #3295 Date Page 22