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HomeMy WebLinkAboutInterview of Ofc Ayala by Dawson_Redacted SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 1 of 51 CASE NAME: GONZALEZ, JESSICA CLASSIFICATION: OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING (FATAL) INTERVIEW OF: GARY AYALA, POLICE OFFICER SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESENT: LEO RODRIGUEZ, DETECTIVE SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT POA ATTORNEY DATE AND TIME: SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 1358-1446 HOURS LOCATION: SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT - POA On the above date and time, I conducted an audio digital recorded interview of Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) Police Officer GARY AYALA in reference to a Santa Ana Police Department officer involved shooting investigation involving JESSICA GONZALEZ. AYALA was on duty and working patrol when the incident occurred. The following is a transcript of the interview: LEGEND: ... Denotes pauses between words or phrases, incomplete sentences, Stammering, etc. (Does not indicate missing words). *** Denotes unintelligible conversation. (Sic)Denotes precisely reproduced word. ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW REPORT SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 2 of 51 [BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW] DAWSON: Alright. Today is September 23, 2013 it’s 1:58pm. Investigator LOREN DAWSON with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Special Assignment 13-015, officer involved shooting on June 23, 2013 with Santa Ana Police Department. If everybody could announce who they are for the recording. RODRIGUEZ: This is Detective LEO RODRIGUEZ, badge 2408, Santa Ana Police Department, Homicide Unit. AYALA: This is Officer GARY AYALA, badge number 3294, Santa Ana Police Department, Patrol. DAWSON: And GARY, before I can give you, or ask you for a statement I have to get a voluntary waiver from you. Is this going to be a free and voluntary statement? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Has anybody from your agency ordered you to give a statement? AYALA: No. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 3 of 51 DAWSON: Do you feel compelled to give a statement because the District Attorney’s Office is involved? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And how long have you worked at the Santa Ana Police Department? AYALA: About nine months. DAWSON: And prior to working the Santa Ana Police Department, did you work another police department? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And where was that? AYALA: San Fernando Police Department. And I was there for about three years. DAWSON: And uh, at the time of incident, what shift uh, were you assigned to? AYALA: I was working uh, day shift, South Coast district. DAWSON: And what’s the time of the shift? AYALA: 0530 to 1600 hours. Correction, 1800 hours. DAWSON: And what are your days off? Or, at the time of this incident what was your days off? AYALA: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 4 of 51 DAWSON: I’m sorry, your days that you work was Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, then? AYALA: No, the days I work are Saturday, Sunday, Monday. DAWSON: Oh. 3-12? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Okay. And you’re currently assigned to patrol? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And at the time of the incident, right now you’re dressed in a police uniform, at the time of this incident back on June 23, 2013, were you dressed the way you are right now in a police uniform? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And at the time of the incident, did you go through the officer processing where we took photographs of you and uh, inventoried the items that were on your belt and your uniform? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And at the time of the incident uh, can you describe what type of weapon were you carrying at the time? AYALA: I had the Glock-22, it’s uh, 40 caliber. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 5 of 51 DAWSON: And how many magazines did you have? AYALA: Three. DAWSON: And prior to this shift, did you happen to check your gun before you went out? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And did you have a backup gun with you the day of the incident? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And what was the backup gun? AYALA: The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380. DAWSON: And did you have any extra, is that a revolver, or, or a semiautomatic? AYALA: Semiautomatic. DAWSON: And did you have any extra magazines for that? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And how many rounds were carried in that one? AYALA: Seven. DAWSON: And your duty weapon, how many rounds are in your magazine? AYALA: The one that’s in the uh, pistol, its 15 plus 1. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 6 of 51 DAWSON: And the other two are 15? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And then, before your shift on your backup weapon, did you happen to check that before you went out? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And are you right or left handed? AYALA: Right handed. DAWSON: And is that, and the gun, both those guns you described to me, are those the same guns that you gave to the uh, crime lab? *** AYALA: Correct. Yes. *** sorry. Did they collect your backup gun too? AYALA: No, I kept that one. Yeah. DAWSON: They just took the primary gun? AYALA: Yes sir. DAWSON: Okay. Uh, and did you, did you, uh, at the time of the incident, did you carry other items on you such as a baton, pepper spray, anything like that? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 7 of 51 AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: What did you carry on you? AYALA: Pepper spray, straight stick baton, handcuffs, radio, keys, a knife. DAWSON: Did you have a Taser? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And on yourself, did you carry a tape recorder? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And do you know of anybody at the incident that carried a tape recorder? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And the day of the incident uh, what unit were you assigned to? AYALA: I was uh, 185. That’s my call sign. DAWSON: And then, do you know what vehicle number you were assigned to? AYALA: At the time, uh, I can’t remember the number of that unit. DAWSON: If we, with the call history ref-, refresh your memory for it, would it be on there, do you know? AYALA: Uh, *** (BACKGROUND CONVERSATION) *** SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 8 of 51 DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I can’t find it. DAWSON: And was uh, your unit one officer, or two officer unit? AYALA: One officer. DAWSON: Was there any weapons inside the vehicle? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: What was inside? AYALA: There was one riffle, Ruger, Ruger 40 caliber rifle. DAWSON: And then was there any other weapons in there? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Is there a video recorder in the vehicle? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you know if any of your vehicles in the department have a video, video recorder? AYALA: No. DAWSON: At the time of, or in, in June 23, 2013, could you explain to me how you got out to Townsend, uh, kinda walk me through everything that happened out there. Um, and then we’ll just kinda run through it. I’ll let SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 9 of 51 you run through as best we can. And then, we’ll come back and hit some points. AYALA: At about uh, Sunday morning, June 23, at about 08:00, I sent Officer ESQUIVEL a message through the MDT and uh, asked him if he wanted to meet. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: He said sure. And uh, I believe it was in the area and Mark and Townsend. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: I showed up and saw him that he was talking to a pedestrian. Uh, so I was waiting for him to finish talking to the uh, gentleman. Uh, once he was done talking to him, I drove up to his window and I told him oh, what was that about. And he told me that that was the father of the victim of the, 187 victim… DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: …that had occurred I want to say, a couple days prior. And uh, the father was trying to uh, find any witnesses, or anybody who had seen anything. DAWSON: Okay. And then what happened? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 10 of 51 AYALA: And then uh, ESQUIVEL told me hey, uh, I’m gonna to a patrol check here on Townsend, just attach yourself to the call. I said sure, let’s go down there and uh, see what we find. DAWSON: I’m sorry, keep going. I’ll just keep writing as you’re going. AYALA: And then uh, I take the lead and I uh, start heading southbound in the 800 block of Townsend, east alley. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: And I saw that he went South on Townsend through the uh, ***. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: So we’re both simultaneously going southbound. And I’m going southbound in the alley, he’s going southbound on Townsend. And, just driving slow, and I see a garage to my right. And I saw that there was about four subjects, and they’re two females and two males. Uh, I saw some beer cans, some tagging on the, on the inside, uh, it looked like possible parolee-type subjects. One of them was bald, uh, wearing loose clothing… DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: There was another Hispanic guy there that was wearing hat, uh short hair, and two other females. And uh, one of the gentlemen, the bald guy that was sitting down on chair, uh, waived at me, but I just kept driving. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 11 of 51 And then uh, I met up with ESQUIVEL uh, in the south portion of the alley right off of McFadden. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And I told him hey, uh, I saw about four subjects in this garage, and right above us, right just north of us, there was another garage that was occupied by two other subjects. The door was closed about half ways. I told him we could either go contact them and…or go and contact the other four subjects. He said okay, let, let’s go. And then uh, we start driving through the ally. He stops at the garage that’s occupied by the two subjects. They’re kinda uncooperative; he sent me a message uncooperative. So he made a left toward Townsend and I sent him a message hey, follow me, it’s this other way through the alley. Uh, he follows me and I’m driving slow through the alley trying to uh, look to the left to see which garage it was. I didn’t remember which one it was, but I knew it was one of them. So, the first one that comes up is not it. Drove to the next one and keep driving until I see the open garage. And that’s when I stopped and exited out of my vehicle. Uh, I got out my car, took a couple steps…let’s say from the driver door, I was walking like in a southwest direction towards the garage. I couldn’t see inside the garage. I could only have a partial view of the front northern-west portion of it. DAWSON: Uh-huh. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 12 of 51 AYALA: Uh, and as I’m walking through to alley, I’m in the middle of the alley exposed, uh, female stepped out holding a uh, gray or silver sem-, semiautomatic handgun. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: Uh, she had it in her right hand in front of her, pointed up towards the sky. DAWSON: And then what happened. AYALA: And then uh, I remember yelling gun out loud. I kind of took a side step as I unholstered my weapon. And when she stepped out, a portion of her stepped out, so I took that opportunity to also step southbound, unholster my weapon…I kinda use that wall as that cover in the meantime as, while I unholster my weapon. And then, as I unholster my weapon, I extended my right hand forward. Uh, started shooting through the wall hoping that the rounds would go penetrate the wall. I was exposed in the alley, it’s…she had the drop on me, I was just playing catch up. If, all she had to do was point that gun at me and I would’ve gotten shot in the face, or in the chest, or I would’ve been dead in the alley. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: So I feared for my safety. I was scared. I said okay, she’s got me, she’s got the drop on me, uh, that’s when I unholstered, started shooting a couple rounds through the wall. Hopefully you know, that gives me enough time SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 13 of 51 to run back and you know, provides um, cover fire for myself. And I run back to ESQUIVEL’s unit, which was parked behind mine in a south- easterly direction. Uh, so I’m shooting one handed with my right hand as I’m running back in an angle trying to get some cover. And uh, I remember her running out. I look back once behind me just to make sure I didn’t trip over the car or ESQUIVEL. Then uh, as soon as I made it to the back of the unit, I see her fall to the ground. DAWSON: And then what happened? AYALA: She fell to the ground and then uh, when she fell, she fell face down. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I saw her reach something with her left hand. And I remember yelling she’s reaching for the gun and I continued shooting two additional rounds. And that’s when one of the males, bald, male Hispanic, poked his head out. And uh, I remember seeing ESQUIVEL to the left of me behind a dumpster taking some cover. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: Um, and I told ESQUIVEL hey, we’ve got multiple subjects in the garage, uh, let me go ahead and uh, cover me, let me push back to the garage so we can get some better cover. And uh, ran back facing northbound, just begin my way back uh, just facing the *** until made to the garage. Uh, and then uh, we put out over the radio that we were involved in a 998 SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 14 of 51 shooting, officer involved shooting. And then uh, I remember shooting my rounds, as she was coming out, I could hear additional gunfire. I, I couldn’t tell who’s they were. I don’t remember hearing my partner shooting, or if it was her shooting, I just remember hearing gun shots. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And uh, once I made it to the back of the unit, that’s when I noticed where my partner was. DAWSON: And then what happened after that? AYALA: Uh, a unit showed up, it was one of the park rangers, you know, let me, let me back up a little bit. As soon as I made it behind the garage on the uh, east side of the alley… DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: ESQUIVEL is in the west side of the alley behind the uh, dumpster. I look to the left, to the west, and I see a, a side door that leads to a courtyard to the apartment complexes. And I told ESQUIVEL hey, these guys are gonna go ahead double back and they’re gonna flank us, so, I was gonna go ahead and watch the left, keep your eyes open, they’re gonna come through there, they’re gonna shoot us and flank us. And we’re still, now we’re kinda dealing with two directions where suspects might come out towards us. So I told him hey, uh, that’s when the uh, park ranger showed up…so I told him hey, push back behind his unit. And we pushed back SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 15 of 51 behind his unit but it, cover wasn’t good. So, that’s when uh, I started making my way towards that uh, entrance. And that’s when Officer PRICE showed up. And I told hey, do me a favor, go ahead and watch this door. These guys are gonna double back uh, I don’t know where they’re at. So, just our back, make sure nobody comes around and shoots us in the back. And that’s when he uh, he stood there, watched that courtyard and uh, the additional units responded. Uh, I remember seeing uh, the suspect that was down on the ground still moving. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: And I yelled out to everybody else hey, she still has a gun underneath her, if she’s still moving be careful cause other officers were making their way, uh, walking northbound on the right side of my car… DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: …trying to go towards the garage. And I threw that out there. I said hey, she’s still moving, she still has a gun. Uh, I started making my way there too. And then uh, we entered the garage and searched it. It was unoccupied. DAWSON: Okay. Um, before I kinda start going back, do you have anything else, can you, on the, what happened? AYALA: No. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 16 of 51 DAWSON: Okay. Um, so I understand, when you were going, and I got picture here for reference off Google Maps, um, maybe this will help us out, are you familiar with the area? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: This one is zoomed in picture and just off Google Maps I put in I think, 805 South Townsend. And I believe it’s this address, which is like a red roof and a green…does that appear to be it, or is it not? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Okay. And the garage were in question would be where about around here? AYALA: Right here. DAWSON: Okay. And you’re pointing to the east side of the apartment complex and then the garage on the south east side, I guess. AYALA: Southwest side. DAWSON: Southwest side. That’s, east right? AYALA: That’s east, that’s west. DAWSON: The southeast garage for, is there two here then? AYALA: That’s one. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 17 of 51 DAWSON: Two garages that were here? AYALA: Uh-huh. Actually, there’s four there. DAWSON: Four garage? AYALA: Yeah. DAWSON: Oh there is? Yeah, it’s, it’s… DAWSON: On the south side? Yeah, if you, sorry to interrupt here. If you look at this across the alleyway it’s stacked up pretty similar to this. DAWSON: Okay. *** yeah. DAWSON: Okay. Alright. So we’ll try to use this as reference. Alright, when you were coming down, when you guys initially were out in the area, did I understand correctly you were going down the alley, ESQUIVEL was going down Townsend? AYALA: Yes. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 18 of 51 DAWSON: Okay. So you guys are going southbound through here. Then you meet him down off McFadden? AYALA: At the alley end on… DAWSON: And he’s talking to dad, I’m sorry was that dad of the victim? AYALA: No, he was up in uh, Townsend and Mark, just northwest of the alley. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And we made our way down to Monta vista. I made my way down Monta vista, he came down Townsend. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: So I continued southbound… DAWSON: The alley? AYALA: The east alley. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And he continued southbound on Townsend. DAWSON: Okay AYALA: And then we met up again uh, kind of T’s off here. DAWSON: Correct. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 19 of 51 AYALA: And I made my way down south in the alley towards McFadden. He met me at the end. DAWSON: Okay. And then that’s when you guys went around to come back to the location? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Now, so I understand, when you guys came back to the location, I guess we could use this marker, where about, if you want to put I guess a X where the garage is in question. And then, did you come northbound or southbound in the alley? AYALA: Northbound. DAWSON: Okay. When you came northbound alley, about, where abouts did you park your vehicle? And again, these cars in the street and none of that’s, it’s all from Google, so it wasn’t there at time of the incident. And you parked your vehicle here…the, you mentioned there’s two females, two males, correct? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Were they in that garage there? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: The one that we marked with X? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 20 of 51 AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Okay. And describe to me, as you pull up here and exit your vehicle, again, what’d you see right when you came out of car? AYALA: I could see a partial view of the northwest side of the garage. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I couldn’t see inside of it. DAWSON: Okay. And then it, where did you take a position as you exited your vehicle? AYALA: As I exited my vehicle and I started walking in the southwest direction towards the northeast corner of the garage. DAWSON: Okay. And for the recording, you’re saying that you’re gonna, against the east wall of the garage, I guess it would be? AYALA: Yes. Kinda towards this direction, toward the corner. DAWSON: And then where about do you go once you go to this wall? Or, do you even encounter anyone? AYALA: I meet her about half way through the alley. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And when the suspect step, stepped out with a gun. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 21 of 51 DAWSON: And can you describe the suspect? AYALA: I want to say she was wearing a white sweater. Uh, female, Hispanic, black hair. And uh, earlier that morning, we had roll call training regarding a 187 suspect who had killed her girlfriend in the city of Orange. Uh, she was outstanding uh, in possession of a firearm. And that’s the information that we got during the roll call training and they gave us a picture of her and flyer. So when she came out, I recognized her as I’m trying to process all this information. DAWSON: Anything else you know about the incident over at Orange…or you, they, uh, explained to you about the incident at Orange? AYALA: Uh, she had made a comment that she wasn’t just gonna go in easy. She was either gonna, put up a fight. DAWSON: Okay. And so I understand, you got that information this morning as you’re going down the alley initially… AYALA: Uh-huh. DAWSON: …and you saw these subjects in there. Did you notice anybody from that homicide as you went by there? AYALA: No. When I drove by I didn’t recognize anybody. DAWSON: So that I understand, was it just a contact with them because possibly drinking or something going on in the garage? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 22 of 51 AYALA: Consensual encounter, and uh… DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: …and I had seen the alcohol, so we were just gonna in there and talk to them. DAWSON: Okay. And so you exit, and your pointing kind of in the middle of the alley. Uh, you see a female come out who you just described. When you saw her, did she appear to be the girl that was, that you saw the picture of from earlier? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And at that time, when you see, where do you see her at when you first encounter her? AYALA: Right about here. DAWSON: So when you, I’m sorry, when you exit and you’re in this, when you exit your car, where about are you at? AYALA: I’m in the middle of the alley. DAWSON: Why don’t you draw a X and guess where you’re at. AYALA: In the middle of the alley, maybe about, no more than ten feet away. DAWSON: And then, when you see her, where is exactly is she at? And do, I guess make an O for her. She’s in front of the garage, is that what you circled? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 23 of 51 AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And about how far away are you from her? AYALA: About ten, seven feet. DAWSON: Seven, ten feet? AYALA: Five feet, somewhere in there within that range. DAWSON: Between you and her, is there any cover or concealment between you guys? AYALA: No, nothing at all. DAWSON: First contact with her, what does she do or say, or what goes on? AYALA: She steps out looking at me and she has the gun in front of her, holding it with her right hand in front of her, uh, facing up towards the air. So um, and I’m completely exposed in the alley and I have no cover or concealment. And I’m thinking okay, she’s got the drop on me, she saw me coming two minutes ago, uh, she probably thought I was gonna come back. And, so I’m just playing catch up now. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And I’m just fearing for my safety, okay I say she’s got me. She, she *** she’s got me, she’s gonna shoot me right now. DAWSON: What did the gun look like to you? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 24 of 51 AYALA: Uh, it looked like silver-grayish uh, semiautomatic pistol. DAWSON: Did she ever say anything to you? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Did she ever make any move in her facial gestures or anything towards you? AYALA: No. DAWSON: As soon as you saw her with the gun and pointed to the air, did she do anything else with the gun, or move the gun anywhere else? AYALA: No. DAWSON: And as she’s pointing in the air, now walk me through…you me-, you mentioned that you’re fearing for your life, now walk me through what transpired from right there as you noticed her with a gun pointed to the air. AYALA: I see her and I’m processing all this information. I’m trying to react. And I’m thinking okay, I got a suspect with a gun, she’s that 187 suspect who uh, killed her girlfriend and she’s got the gun. She’s gonna shoot me. She’s got the drop on me. Now I’m playing catch up and I’m trying to react and defend myself. And that’s when I sidestepped southbound. DAWSON: Okay. If you want to draw a line of where you’re going. And so… SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 25 of 51 AYALA: And that’s when I unholstered my weapon. DAWSON: Cause you sidestepped southbound, are you still in visual with her? AYALA: No, as soon as I moved, the wall kind of concealed her. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And that’s when I started shooting some rounds through the wall hoping it’s gonna stop her from coming out or from shooting at me. And then I started running in a somewhat south… DAWSON: And for the draw on your, uh, for Officer ESQUIVEL, do you want to put down where his vehicle was? And you’re drawing it just south of yours, right? I guess uh, do you want to put his initials? And just put a line out here just to put his initials somewhere over there. And then your initials next to yours. Okay. So you go back south, you were saying it’s south eastbound. Now where, when you start, how many rounds did you fire when you were, when you sidestepped backwards one step? AYALA: From the moment I saw her, to the moment I got behind ESQUIVEL’s car, maybe about five rounds. DAWSON: Okay. Are you firing on the, on the run backwards? AYALA: Yes. When I run backwards, I can’t remember. I fired as soon as I started moving here and I started moving back…I fired a couple of rounds. Half way through it, I don’t know if I continued shooting. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 26 of 51 DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: But initially, I started firing. Uh, and then I made it back. Then I saw her running out. Then I started hearing more gunfire. But uh, I remember just shooting about half way through. And then I don’t know if I continued shooting until I made it to the car. DAWSON: And how long it take you to fire off those five rounds? AYALA: A couple seconds. I don’t know, five seconds, three seconds. DAWSON: As you back out southeast, where do, where do you go? AYALA: I made it behind ESQUIVEL’s vehicle in the southwest portion of his vehicle. DAWSON: Okay. As you’re standing behind his vehicle… AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: The whole time as you’re backing up, can you see where she’s going? AYALA: Uh, as soon as I make it here, as I’m running back, I see her stepping out and running towards my vehicle like in a northeast direction. DAWSON: And what is she doing with the gun at this time? AYALA: I couldn’t see the gun at that time. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 27 of 51 DAWSON: And what is she doing or saying as she’s running out in the middle of the, that alleyway. AYALA: As soon she’s running out I’m running back here. As soon as I get here, I see her fall down in the alley. DAWSON: When you retreat back to the rear of the vehicle and you shot about, what you describe as approximately five rounds, did you shoot any more rounds that you know of when you were back at the vehicle? AYALA: Yes. Right when I made it here, she fell, and I saw her reach for something with her left hand. And I remember saying she’s reaching for the gun and I fired two more rounds. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: Um, she’s still a threat. I don’t know if she got hit, I’m not sure if she got impacted. Uh, I was still scared for my safety and my partner’s safety, not knowing that there’s probably still multiple suspects in there, you know… DAWSON: You wanna draw, I guess a line roughly…I know you have a X here where you started out, kind of where she would be at. Just make a circle, or that’s fine with the ***. Um, when you saw her out in the middle and then she fell down, you said she was moving on the ground, could you see the gun at that time? AYALA: No. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 28 of 51 DAWSON: Describe to me the actions at the time that she was on the ground before you fired the second rounds. AYALA: As soon as she fell I just saw her reach for something with the left hand, like toward the front of her. I said okay, she, she probably dropped the gun, she fell, she must’ve dropped the gun, she’s gonna get it, she’s gonna continue, she’s gonna get up, she’s gonna shoot at us. And uh, we’re gonna have to deal with a threat on the east side of the alley and another threat, a couple more threats on the west side of the alley. DAWSON: When she falls to the ground, what position is she lying in? AYALA: She’s uh, face down. DAWSON: Prone out, do you know which her legs or feet or, or her legs, or hands are facing? AYALA: Ah, she was I mean, but like in a, her head might have been like in a northeast direction. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And uh, yeah she was just facing down. DAWSON: Okay. So when you fire the two rounds where is Off-, during this incident that’s going on, where does Officer ESQUIVEL go, or where’s he’s at? AYALA: He, when I look back, I just saw him standing behind the uh, dumpster. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 29 of 51 DAWSON: Okay so, for the cam, or the camera, the recording, you’re uh, pointing at the dumpster which is just south of the garage…pretty much where the dumpster is on the Google Maps. During the shooting incident, when you were up here going to contact, do you know, you know where ESQUIVEL was at the time? AYALA: No, I didn’t see him until I went back to his unit. DAWSON: Okay. And do you know if Officer ESQUIVEL fired his weapon? AYALA: At the time no. DAWSON: And you mentioned you heard other gun shots being fired. AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: How many other gun shots do remember being fired? AYALA: I can’t remember. But, I heard multiple shots and I was thinking uh, I was the one getting shot at. DAWSON: Okay. Just to, when you’re backing up, are you turned around running away, or are you, what’s, uh, how are you backing up as you’re getting to cover? AYALA: Initially, I had my hand extended. I’m shooting as I’m running in a southeastern direction, at an angle and I’m looking towards the suspect. And right before I make it to vehicle, maybe about half way through or SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 30 of 51 before I get there, I take a glance behind me to make sure I don’t trip over him or the vehicle. And then I continued uh, looking forward. And then uh, just running back with my extended I kinda caught myself okay, don’t give your back too much. You know, keep it how you’re, you know, the direction you’re facing in. And I just rotated my body towards the threat. So if I get shot, at least I get shot in the chest. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And I’m, I have eyes on the threat. And I just kinda rotated my body southbound stood behind ESQUIVEL’s vehicle to keep eyes on the threat. DAWSON: So what I understand was you’re running backwards, your hands pointed out, your right hand’s pointed out firing and you’re I guess, what is it bladed, whatever the correct word is as you’re, as you’re withdrawing back to the rear of the vehicle? AYALA: Yes. Yes. DAWSON: Okay. Do you, do you remember firing the other wea-, any other rounds other than the five you mentioned, approximate five you mentioned and the two that when you’re behind the vehicle? AYALA: No, those were it. DAWSON: And then, did you ever see Officer ESQUIVEL fire any uh, guns…? AYALA: No. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 31 of 51 DAWSON: …or any weapons, I mean bullets? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you know of anybody else firing any guns that you know of? AYALA: No. DAWSON: When she went down and you fired two other rounds, did she, what, what happened after you fired the two more rounds at her? AYALA: I saw one of the male Hispanic subjects poke his head out and I yelled out, I said hey, we got multiple suspects in there, uh, go to cover me, let push back to the uh, garage. I heard him acknowledge me. And that’s when I made my way southbound. Still facing forward, facing northbound, I made my way southbound. DAWSON: Why don’t you draw that back to where you took your next position of cover. Okay. Do you know the address of where this was at? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Okay. I’m sorry, so you back withdrawaled (SIC) to a cover behind the, another set of garages correct? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Southeast of where you were at behind the car? AYALA: Yes. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 32 of 51 DAWSON: And then I’m sorry, as you’re standing here, then what happened? We, uh, for the recording, as you’re standing behind the garage southeast from the car, where, what happened next? AYALA: I looked to my left westbound and I see that there’s this open, well there’s this uh, door that leads to the courtyard. And I told ESQUIVEL hey, uh, they’re gonna try to flank us so watch that door to the left, keep eyes on it, and uh… DAWSON: And right now for the recording, you’re pointing towards the west, which would be the southeast portion of the courtyard for 805 South Townsend? Is that correct? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Okay. I’m sorry, so you mentioned to him that keep an eye over for the courtyard? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And I’m sorry, keep going. AYALA: I told him they’re gonna go and double back on us and they’re gonna shoot us through the back. So just keep an eye at the uh, at the gate, at the door. So now we’re trying to deal with suspects north of us and suspects also coming and flanking us from the west. And I told him hey, SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 33 of 51 we need to push back, I’ll get some better cover cause we’re in a bad position. And that’s when uh, one of the park rangers showed up. DAWSON: And what did the park ranger do? AYALA: He stopped at about, I would say here. And I told *** hey, push back to the unit. And I pushed backed to this door. But I said you know what, it’s not a good place. Let me go ahead and get behind your garage so at least I’ll watch the door in case somebody comes out. DAWSON: Okay. I guess just put PW for park ranger. Uh, what we’re identifying as south in the alley, uh, park ranger’s vehicle is parked in the alley. So then make a, if you can, make a line… AYALA: PW? PR. DAWSON: Uh, I’m sorry. The uh, if you could make a line now where you retreated. And then where you went to next. And you said you went behind the door of the park ranger’s vehicle? AYALA: Uh-huh. DAWSON: And then where’s the next place you went to? AYALA: Then I made my way around the vehicle. I came out here. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 34 of 51 DAWSON: And then took cover uh, where, where initially you were looking at the courtyard, correct? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And is that where you remain until additional units came? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: And when you were retreating back over to the courtyard area, where does Officer ESQUIVEL doing? AYALA: He pushed back and was standing over here. DAWSON: You want to just mark his line backwards. And you’re saying he’s *** south of where he’s at. When you took cover back over here, what did the male Hispanic do when you saw him pop out? AYALA: He popped out and just looked at me and went back in. DAWSON: Did you ever see any other subjects from the garage…that male Hispanic, anybody else go anywhere else during this whole incident? AYALA: No. GARY, do you ever come into view up, up here in the alleyway at all? Anybody from this garage, other than the uh, person that was um, down on the uh, road surface? AYALA: Anyone else coming southbound? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 35 of 51 Any direction. Do you see anybody leaving this garage area and, and heading northeast? AYALA: No. There was four subjects that I saw when I was going southbound were there. When I came back around, the only ones I saw was the suspect and the other male Hispanic who poked his head out. Okay. AYALA: But through this whole thing I didn’t, I don’t remember seeing anybody else fleeing. DAWSON: You mention, I’m sorry that 8, that at approximately 08:00, is that the time you mentioned that his happened? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: About how long did this whole thing transcribe in your mind? AYALA: From the time I was going southbound to the time uh, everything was pretty much done, then uh, units arrived and we made it safe, maybe ten minutes. DAWSON: How long did the shooting incident take place? AYALA: Maybe two minutes. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 36 of 51 *** think about that GARY. Two minutes is one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, all the way through 120 of those. So… AYALA: You know, it probably took about five, ten minutes, somewhere in there. DAWSON: For the whole, talking about the whole incident? AYALA: Yeah. DAWSON: At, uh, I’m sorry, let me be more specific. The time you got out of your vehicle to the time that you saw her around or being fired you took cover, how long transpired between this whole incident? *** AYALA: From the time I got out of my vehicle and I started shooting and ***, about I don’t know, 40 seconds, or 30 seconds, somewhere in there. DAWSON: Okay. Okay. AYALA: It just happened real fast. DAWSON: And you said this is the girl you recognized from the photos from the 187 from earlier? AYALA: Yes. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 37 of 51 DAWSON: At any time during the time from the start to end, did the girl you described as the suspect from the Orange shooting, did she ever make any statements? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Did anybody else, any other subjects out there that she was with make any statements to you guys? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you know if there’s any witnesses that were out there that saw the shooting happen? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you have questions? RODRIGUEZ: Uh, just a couple questions…um, you’re familiar with Townsend Street Gang huh GARY? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Uh, when you first saw these subjects in the garage, uh, with your training experience and working the area, did they possibly appear to be maybe Townsend Street gang members? AYALA: Yes sir. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 38 of 51 RODRIGUEZ: Okay. And you are aware that Townsend Street gang members carry handguns? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. And they’re involved in murders, shootings, assault with deadly weapons? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: …drug dealing, uh, robberies? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. So, you know them to be a violent street gang? AYALA: Yes. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. You covered some of the questions I was gonna ask. DAWSON: What was the weather conditions that were out that time, that you remember? AYALA: It was daylight and it was uh, cloudy. DAWSON: Out of all the shots that were fired, and I probably asked, I don’t remember, how many shot, how many rounds do you remember hearing out there that were fired? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 39 of 51 AYALA: From me, I would say five to seven. Um, I can’t count, but I’d just say multiple rounds were fired from what I heard. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I wouldn’t be able to count and give you an exact number. I’d say maybe over ten. DAWSON: Okay. Do you know about what time did those other rounds start being fired? AYALA: As soon as I started uh, running back for some cover. DAWSON: Okay. So, *** when you start firing your gun and then taking cover behind ESQUIVEL’s car? AYALA: Yes, as soon as I’m firing and I see her coming out…just continued running back to get some cover, uh, continued hearing multiple gun, gunshots. DAWSON: Okay. And do you have any idea where those rounds were coming from? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Okay. But you mentioned that as far as you knew, it was coming from...? AYALA: The suspects. DAWSON: …the suspect’s gun. And during this time, were you guys putting out anything on the radio? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 40 of 51 AYALA: Not until I made to the back of the unit, ESQUIVEL’s unit, I heard him say uh, 186, 998, 800 south Townsend. And then I said okay, we’re in the alley. And I put it over the radio, 185, 998, 800 south Townsend, east alley. And uh, dispatch acknowledged and they were telling units, units respond, respond northbound through the alley. DAWSON: Okay. And when you took cover back here, the final location your point, which would be next to the courtyard, um, how much time transpired until you guys actually went up to her to check her status, that you know? AYALA: I’d say maybe about a minute or so I would say. DAWSON: Okay. And then what was the plan when you guys went out to check on her? What did you guys do? AYALA: The plan is to keep on eyes on her cause I, that’s when I found hey, she’s still moving as we’re making our way up there. I started moving around. And I yelled at the officers hey, she’s got a gun underneath her, she’s still moving, be careful. And we made our way through, northbound through the vehicles. I had to secure the garage ‘cause we could hear something moving in the garage like something fell. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: We’re thinking okay, the guys are still in there. And uh, we pushed through the garage, somebody cuffed her, and then uh, made her safe. Then we cleared the garage, but it was empty. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 41 of 51 DAWSON: Uh, you’re pointing, you came along the east side of the alley on the east side of your police vehicles when you guys came out? AYALA: Yeah. Yeah, I came from the west side and made my way northbound towards the east side of the alley. DAWSON: And then who was with you when you guys went in to do this? AYALA: Uh, it was uh, Acting Sergeant ENRIQUEZ. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: …ESQUIVEL, myself, and I want to say Officer PRICE. DAWSON: You, you don’t remember who handcuffed her? AYALA: No. DAWSON: When you guys searched the garage did you guys find anything in it? AYALA: I want to say, it might have been ESQUIVEL, who cuffed her. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I think Officer PRICE was there, I’m not 100% sure. He helped us clear the garage. DAWSON: Okay. Did you guys find any person in the garage when you guys searched it? AYALA: No, it was empty. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 42 of 51 DAWSON: Did you see where any of the subjects went after the garage? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you know who ended up calling for medical attention for her? AYALA: Yes, I heard Officer ESQUIVEL when we were on the uh, southwest side of the alley by the courtyard. DAWSON: You heard him…? I’m sorry, go ahead. AYALA: When I was standing by the door of the courtyard, uh, and ESQUIVEL was standing uh, next to the park ranger’s vehicle… DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: I heard he put out over the air, hey uh, we got one suspect down. And tried to set up a perimeter and having fire stage. DAWSON: Okay. So, to clarify then for the recording is, the time that you guys are setting up for cover um, behind the police, or the park ranger’s vehicle and also in the courtyard area where you’re at… AYALA: Uh-huh. DAWSON: …you guys already asked for fire to come out and assist correct? AYALA: Yeah, ESQUIVEL was putting the information out. DAWSON: Were you or any of the officers injured during this incident? SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 43 of 51 AYALA: No. DAWSON: Did you lose any equipment during this incident? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Was there any fight or anything, uh, or any use of force with the exception of the shooting that occurred out there? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Do you, anything else that you could remember that happened out there that we haven’t talked about? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Explain to me again, more detail if we can, uh, when you first confronted her and you saw this weapon and it’s pointing towards the sky. Kinda go through your mind, uh, what you were thinking at this, that point. I know you kind of briefly talked about it um, but I’m wondering what was going through your mind um, as you’re seeing this and you’re recognizing her as the subject from the Orange shooting. AYALA: As I step out my car, I’m thinking okay, I’m going to go ahead and make contact with the subjects if they’re still in there… DAWSON: Hmm. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 44 of 51 AYALA: …and uh, talk to them, see what we find. And then, I saw her step out with a gun from the wall. *** I wasn’t expecting it, I mean you’re ready for it. But you, you weren’t expecting it. DAWSON: Hmm. AYALA: So now, I’m playing catch up. As she steps out she’s holding her gun, she’s looking at me, and I’m thinking oh, I’m in a bad spot, I’m gonna get killed right now, I’m gonna get shot. She’s five, seven, ten feet away from me. She’s just gonna point that gun and she’s gonna shoot me and I’m gonna end up getting killed here in the alley. DAWSON: Hmm. AYALA: And uh, I remember yelling out gun loud. Uh, that’s when I, that’s when I unholstered my weapon and took that sidestep. And I said okay, I’m gonna fight my way out of this and you know, I gotta live. So, as I’m doing all this I start shooting through the wall hoping either the walls penetrate the wall and stop her or it gives me enough time to run back and uh, get some better cover, concealment cause I had none at the time. And so I’m running back, I’m shooting and I make it behind this vehicle, ESQUIVEL’s vehicle and I started running out. I heard the multiple gunshots and I’m thinking man I’m, I’m getting shot at, I’m getting lit up… DAWSON: Uh-huh. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 45 of 51 AYALA: …and I don’t feel any impacts yet. So, so far you know, I’m still, I’m still good. Uh, I made it to the back of the unit and I saw her, I just saw her fall down to the ground. And I saw her reach for something with the left hand in front of us…okay, she’s still an active threat, I don’t know if she’s been hit… DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: …and I remember *** okay, she’s got the gun. I’m thinking she’s gonna get back up and start shooting. And I’m thinking we might have other guys in there cause I had seen a total of four people in there. And yeah, when I saw her reaching for you know, what I thought was a gun, I yelled that out. As she reached for the gun I continued shooting two more rounds. And uh, that’s when one of the guys poked his head out and just stared at me for a second. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: So just, I thought she was gonna kill me. She, she knew we were coming, she had just seen me, so she knew what she was doing. So, at, at that point I’m just playing catch up. So… DAWSON: Uh, the guy that Officer ESQUIVEL talked to, did you say it was like a dad or something of…you mentioned he met, he talked to someone that was the dad or relative, or something of the victim of the Orange shooting. AYALA: Yeah. No, a couple days ago… SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 46 of 51 Yeah, you need to clarify. AYALA: A couple days ago in the area of Townsend there was a uh, a kid, a juvenile who had gotten stabbed, he had gotten killed. DAWSON: Uh-huh. AYALA: So, it happened in our city, separate from Orange. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: Uh, so the kid ended up dying and uh, the father was out there early in the morning trying to look for some witnesses or somebody who might have seen anything. DAWSON: Okay. So that’s, so that had…unrelated to do with the Orange Police Department incident correct? AYALA: Completely separate. DAWSON: Oh okay. And so, you guys were just, he, he was letting you be aware of the or-, of a different incident in Santa Ana that occurred and trying to look for witnesses for a different incident unrelated to this, correct? AYALA: Yes. And we were out there just to you know, show police presence. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: We know it’s a gang neighborhood. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 47 of 51 DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: A lot of bad stuff happens. You know, we have uh, shootings, uh, murders that happen in the area. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: So we were just going out there and uh, doing our job. DAWSON: Okay. And then for the Orange incident, that’s when you mentioned you saw that, or you got the info on the briefing correct? AYALA: Yes. And so I ended up recognizing her. DAWSON: Okay. RODRIGUEZ: ***. Um, in your experience when uh, uh, say people with uh, criminals and people with guns or uh, when they see a police officer, do they normally stay in the area or do they leave? AYALA: They leave. RODRIGUEZ: They leave right? Um, but she didn’t do that, she stayed in the area and came out with uh, what you believed to be a handgun correct? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. And are you uh, in your training experience are you aware to uh, when we’re involved in shootings as police officers, sometimes we don’t realize we’re hit…you hear shots, but is it possible do you, are you aware SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 48 of 51 of the fact that sometimes with your adrenaline going you may be hit but you’re not aware of that? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: You’re familiar with that? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: And you’re familiar with uh, you seen uh, videos or heard of other police officer shootings where officers uh, are possibly hit but don’t realize it cause they have the adrenaline going right? AYALA: Yes sir. They stay in a fight. RODRIGUEZ: Correct. And uh, you’re also familiar uh, with suspects who, who, or people who get shot that just because they are, they are shot, they don’t automatically succumb to their injuries. Are you familiar with that? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. And do you know sometimes, often times uh, continue to uh, try to kill you or shoot you? Are you familiar with that? AYALA: Yes sir. RODRIGUEZ: Okay. Uh… DAWSON: Just a question I got. When you were firing your gun when you were retreating and also taking cover, did you have an opportunity to take SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 49 of 51 your gun and look at your sights, line it up, and shoot your rounds on any of the time you were out there? AYALA: Naturally, I just do it automatically. Uh, it’s just muscle memory. DAWSON: Okay. AYALA: And kinda, I wasn’t focusing on a front side tip, I just automatically know, you know I know, no other way to shoot. DAWSON: Point and shoot? AYALA: It’s my training so, I knew what I shooting at and I was shooting at a target that I was shooting at so… DAWSON: Okay. Okay. AYALA: …I felt that was pretty accurate. DAWSON: Is there anything else that you can think of? RODRIGUEZ: Is there anything else that you can think that we uh, didn’t ask you that you, might be important? AYALA: No sir. I got a real quick one. When did you believe the threat to be neutralized? AYALA: Not until I want to say ESQUIVEL cuffed her. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 50 of 51 So until ESQUIVEL cuffed her, did you believe that she presented an ongoing threat to you? AYALA: Yes sir. And was that, was that a potential deadly threat based on the fact that the gun hadn’t…let me back up, had the gun been located at the time she had been handcuffed? AYALA: No. Okay. Then let me ask you the question I was starting to ask you, did she present an ongoing threat to you because the gun had not been located? AYALA: Yes. That’s what I wanted to ask. DAWSON: Um, when you guys handcuffed her at the time did you find out where the gun was? AYALA: No. DAWSON: Before you cleared the scene, did you find out where the gun was? AYALA: Yes. Once as, one we, somebody cuffed her, I think ESQUIVEL cuffed her and we started pushing towards the garage. So, I was focused on the garage. Um, when we stepped out I saw her flipped over and then I saw the gun on the floor. SA 13-015 Investigator: L. Dawson Approved By: Date of Report: 10/04/13 Date: 10/04/2013 Page 51 of 51 DAWSON: You mean, so I understand correctly, was the gun underneath her? AYALA: Yes. DAWSON: Okay. So, at the whole time of this incident, the gun was underneath her? Okay. Anything else? RODRIGUEZ: No. DAWSON: Okay, uh, oh, could you, I’ll turn the recorder off, but if you can initial, date this one Google Map photo and then I’ll attach it with the report. Anything else? No that’s it. DAWSON: Okay. Ends interview at 02:46 pm. [END OF INTERVIEW] TRANSCRIBED BY: ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE 10-01-2013 REVISED BY: LOREN DAWSON / INVESTIGATOR (NAME) / (TITLE) SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS / OCTOBER 3, 2013 (DEPARTMENT) / (DATE)