Expand / Collapse search
☰

Danville police officer ordered to stand trial in shooting death of unarmed man

By
Published  July 20, 2021 6:41pm PDT
Crime and Public Safety
KTVU FOX 2

Judge rules Danville cop must stand trial in deadly shooting

Danville Police Officer Andrew Hall will stand trial on voluntary manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda.

DANVILLE, Calif. - A Danville police officer will stand trial on a manslaughter charge for fatally shooting a mentally-ill driver in 2018, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Officer Andrew Hall, who shot and killed another man in a separate incident this year, will go to trial for voluntary manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda, said Judge Terri Mockler of Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Mockler issued her ruling after viewing body-camera and dash-cam video presented by prosecutor Christopher Walpole at a preliminary hearing.

District Attorney Diana Becton said in April that the officer had crossed the line.

"Officer Hall used unreasonable and unnecessary force when he responded to the in-progress traffic pursuit," Becton previously said.

Arboleda, 33, took off in a car after he was spotted acting suspiciously in a neighborhood.

Danville police shoot Newark man to death after they say he intentionally drove at them

Danville police released video showing Deputy Andrew Hall running toward Laudemer Arboleda's vehicle, stopping near the right of the vehicle, then stepping backward as he began to fire on November 3, 2018.

As other officers chased Arboleda into downtown Danville, Officer Hall intercepted them, running to Arboleda's car. 

Hall opened fire as Arboleda tried to drive past two police cars.

Police say Arboleda tried to run the officer over.

In March of this year, the same officer shot and killed Tyrell Wilson, who was homeless and mentally ill.

Police said Wilson advanced at the officer with a knife. His family says he wasn't a threat. The district attorney is still investigating that case.

SEE ALSO: Danville officer shoots Black man, 4 seconds after he tells him to drop knife

Civil rights attorney John Burris has filed lawsuits on behalf of the families of both men who were shot and killed by Hall.

Burris said the videos in Arboleda's killing are key pieces of evidence. 

"Evaluating whether he should have shot, should have used deadly force - or not - or was he in the position to get out of the way? Because what's clear in a case of this kind, you cannot shoot into a moving car unless your life is in dange," Burris said.

The judge dismissed a charge of an assault with a semiautomatic firearm. It will eventually be up to a jury to decide the officer's fate on the manslaughter charge for killing Arboleda. The officer will be arraigned on Aug. 9.