(The AEGIS Alliance) – A California jury has agreed to convict an ex-cop for assault with a firearm for the fatal shooting death of a Black man who had been diagnosed with a mental disorder in the course of a low-speed pursuit in 2018, however, they were unable to reach an agreement on the more significant manslaughter charge.
The family members of Laudemer Arboleda, that had just been 33 years of age when he got fatally shot by Danville Police Officer Andrew Hall, accepted that the judgment made progress in their mission to receive justice yet cut short of proclaiming victory.
“We received a piece, a part of justice, partial justice,” the family’s lawyer Adante Pointer said, noting that “the fight isn’t over.”
Hall was implicated in shooting Arboleda 9 times in the middle of a low-speed pursuit in Danville, an affluent San Francisco suburban area, the evening of November 3, 2018.
Officers back then had been responding to a 911 phone call coming from an individual that stated a male suspect was knocking on doors and hanging around outside of houses in a dead-end street. As officers moved toward the scene, they could observe Arboleda driving off, beginning a sluggish police chase that would last for around 9 minutes.
Hall, that wasn’t one of the first responding officers, became aware of the incident from police radio, enabling him to stop his patrol vehicle at an intersection, then block Arboleda’s vehicle. Police bodycam video reveals the cop strolling into the pathway of the car prior to discharging a barrage of gunshots right into the windshield and passenger-side window.
Just months prior to his lethal experience with Hall, Arboleda had been unwillingly committed to a psychological medical facility for 3 full weeks and was prescribed medicine for psychosis and also schizophrenia, his family members have pointed out.
Hall went back on duty following the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office clearing him of wrongdoing after its own investigation that lasted for nine months. Hall faced charges that weren’t introduced until years afterward on April 21, 2021, 1 day after Minneapolis authorities Officer Derek Chauvin had been found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
“Today’s guilty verdict holds accountable defendant Andrew Hall for his excessive use of force in the fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton pointed out.
“Deputy Hall’s actions were not only a crime, but they tarnished the badge and they harmed the reputation of all the good, hard-working police officers that work for our community. My Office extends our condolences to the family of Mr. Arboleda.”
She included that: “With regards to the voluntary manslaughter count, we will take the matter under review to determine the appropriate next steps.”
Jeffrey Childers – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
