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HomeMy WebLinkAboutInt Ofc Ryan Shifflett S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 1 of 31 CASE NAME: OSORIO, BENITO CLASSIFICATION: OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING (FATAL) INTERVIEW OF: RYAN SHIFFLETT, POLICE OFFICER SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESENT: EDDIE NUNEZ, DETECTIVE SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT CHARLES GOLDWASSER, ATTORNEY DATE AND TIME: MARCH 26, 2015 1315 - 1349 HOURS LOCATION: SANTA ANA POLICE OFFICER ASSOCIATION On March 26, 2015, at approximately 1315 hours, I conducted an audio digital recorded interview of Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) Officer RYAN SHIFFLETT regarding the officer involved shooting related to BENITO OSORIO 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. [BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW] SMITH: This is Investigator RYAN SMITH. It is Thursday, March 26th, at 1:13pm. We’re at the Santa Ana Police Officer Association office, and I’m here *** (MIC NOISE) table go ahead sir. NUNEZ: Detective NUNEZ, Santa Ana Police Department, badge 2564. ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW REPORT S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 2 of 31 GOLDWASSER: CHARLES GOLDWASSER, G-O-L-D-W-A-S-S-E-R. SHIFFLETT: Officer RYAN SHIFFLETT, uh, Santa Ana Police Department, badge 3264. SMITH: Okay. Sir is the, uh, statement free and voluntary today? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Has anyone from your Agency ordered you to give a statement? SHIFFLETT: Yes. SMITH: They…you were ordered to give a statement today? SHIFFLETT: Oh today no, sir. SMITH: Okay. Do you feel compelled to give a statement because the District Attorney’s Office is involved? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. (PAUSE) SMITH: And what is your present assignment? SHIFFLETT: Uh, with the Civic Center and directed patrol. SMITH: Uh, directed patrol? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: ***. And your position titles…police officer? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: And how long have you been at that current assignment? SHIFFLETT: A little over a year. SMITH: And how long have you been a police officer at your current department? SHIFFLETT: Uh, just under four years. SMITH: Okay. Have you worked as a police officer for any other Agency? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 3 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Where at? SHIFFLETT: Uh, in Atlanta, Georgia. SMITH: Atlanta. So Atlanta PD? SHIFFLETT: It was, uh, actually Gwinnett County PD. SMITH: Can you spell that for me? SHIFFLETT: W-, uh, G-W-I-N-N-E-T-T. SMITH: And that’s county? SHIFFLETT: Yes. SMITH: Was that, uh… SHIFFLETT: ***. SMITH: …sheriff’s position or deputy or…? SHIFFLETT: Uh, PD. SMITH: Okay. PD. And how long were you with that Agency? SHIFFLETT: Three years. SMITH: ***. So total time as a, uh, working as a police officer…? SHIFFLETT: Just under seven. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and I’m going back to the, the date of the incident, uh, how were you dressed…as you are now? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: So you had the polo shirt, blue jeans, and your duty belt? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 4 of 31 SMITH: Okay. Uh…I think we did this in your, your duty weapon is, is that unchanged from when we did the officer processing that day? I think I was there for that. SHIFFLETT: That…this is unchanged. Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh… GOLDWASSER: But you do recall that he did not fire his duty weapon… SMITH: I do. GOLDWASSER: …at the scene? SMITH: I do. GOLDWASSER: Okay. SMITH: Uh, now going back to that, uh, day and, uh, Mr. GOLDWASSER’s point, uh, what weapon were you using that day? SHIFFLETT: I used my patrol rifle, uh, an M4 or AR15. SMITH: And is this, uh, rifle is it a, uh, do you remember the model or make? SHIFFLETT: It’s a Colt 6940. SMITH: Colt 6940. What caliber is that? SHIFFLETT: 556/223. (PAUSE) SMITH: Okay. And, uh, is that department issued or your personal? SHIFFLETT: Uh, personal. SMITH: Okay. I’m just gonna show you a quick picture here, of a picture from that day. Does that look like your rifle, sir? SHIFFLETT: Yes, that is…yeah, that should be mine. I can't see the serial number… S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 5 of 31 SMITH: I understand. SHIFFLETT: …***. (PAUSE) SMITH: Uh, what…do you remember what vehicle you were driving that day or what unit you were in? SHIFFLETT: I wanna say 859. SMITH: What was your call sign that day? SHIFFLETT: It would have been 095 that day. SMITH: 095. Was that a one officer or two officer unit? SHIFFLETT: Uh, one officer. SMITH: And, uh, besides your duty weapon and your rifle that we talked about were there any other weapons in the vehicle that were either issued in the vehicle or your own? SHIFFLETT: No. SMITH: Okay. (UNINTELLIGIBLE CONVERSATION) SMITH: No shotgun or anything? SHIFFLETT: No. SMITH: Okay. Uh, is your…vehicle have a video recorder in it? SHIFFLETT: No, it does not. SMITH: Uh… SHIFFLETT: Well, that one actually has the, not the surveillance but it does have the recorder for the, uh, license plate readers. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 6 of 31 SMITH: Okay. But no like, uh, video camera… (SPEAKING SIMULTANEOUSLY) SHIFFLETT: But not the video camera, no. SMITH: …***. Okay. Is there, uh, any recording devices that you carry personal like a digital recorder, anything like that… SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: …that day? Okay. ***. Do you remember the approximate time of call? SHIFFLETT: I wanna say it was around 12:30ish. SMITH: Okay. (PAUSE) And what, what was the original call? SHIFFLETT: Uh, the original call was, uh, shots fired. SMITH: Shots fired. Okay. SHIFFLETT: Um, I think we had t-, uh, couple calling party’s and one said that subject was shooting at another subject, uh, I think it kinda came across is that that subject might have a gun as well but, uh, once the one subject that shot got in a, uh, white Toyota and, uh, drove away. SMITH: Okay. And was your response to the call was it, uh, code-3 response? SHIFFLETT: No. SMITH: Okay. I’ll go through this and… (PAUSE @ 0:05:45 – 0:05:59) SMITH: And the weapon you used, uh, in the incident was this rifle here that we’re talking about? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. You remember how many, uh, rounds that you fired, sir? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 7 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Uh, four or five. (PAUSE @ 0:06:10 – 0:06:25) SMITH: And were you injured, uh, during the incident at all? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Any, uh, blood or anything like that was…may have gotten on you at that time? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, if you could just kinda take me through, uh, in, in your words without, uh, kinda of Q and A if you will I just wanna hear from you from, uh, the time you got the call including maybe the call description and where you were coming from and just take me through… SHIFFLETT: Uh… SMITH: …***. SHIFFLETT: …yes, sir. The call came out, uh, I just left Firehouse Subs on, uh, Seventeenth I think I got to, uh, Seventeenth and Main when the call came out initially. Uh, I kinda just started making my way down Main Street, uh, I think, uh, I got to just North of First and Main I wanna say when, uh, the motor off-, officer put out that he was behind the truck trying to catch up to get the plate out, uh, uh, so he kinda… I, I got through First and Main by that point he had a, uh, the vehicle was, the white truck was stopped, uh, northbound on Main Street, um, around the Pine area. Uh, I was already through First and Main so I was South of First Street, uh, there was still…and they basically set up the 960 x-ray to, with S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 8 of 31 the several, several police units behind the truck. Uh, there were already officers out of their vehicles. There was a line of traffic that was southbound Main or southbound Main passed First Street so I…they were still going I went and stopped them and blocked the traffic from going, uh, side tracked them down a side street, uh, they got out on the side street. They put out the stop First and Main over the radio, an officer was at First and Main and he stopped the, all southbound traffic coming, uh, I…so once the, all that traffic of the cars were behind my car once they cleared I got back in my vehicle and shot down, uh, to where the other units were behind the, uh, car. Uh, as I drove by the white Toyota I looked and I could see the, uh, the driver he had the, he had a gun, uh, pointed at his chin, uh, below his chin. Uh, I got out of the car, uh, popped the trunk grabbed my bag went to the, took it *** my rifle bag, took it to the hood of the car just to have some cover so I wasn’t exposed, uh, to the white, to the Toyota, uh, got my rifle out. As I was getting my rifle I heard a, heard a shot, uh, it to me sounded like it was coming from his vehicle. I didn’t know I wasn’t looking in the vehicle so I didn’t know if he was shooting at us, if he was shooting, if he shot himself I just heard the shot, uh, didn’t hear any other shots. Quickly got my rifle, slung my rifle, uh, loaded it and, uh, went to just there were so, the officers were all in line I wanted to get a better, I kinda wanted the flank, the car, to get a better angle, uh, so I went to a tree that was I guess what parallel with the driver’s door, uh, just to the West of where, uh, where S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 9 of 31 the truck was parked, uh, just, just for a better tactical advantage. Uh, uh, set up behind the tree had better eyes *** I could see the, uh, see the driver was still moving. They put it out on the radio, uh, and I think they initially started to move forward, uh, after they heard the shot, uh, it was, uh, we, we stopped them kinda brought them back and somebody said that hey still moving, I could see that he was still moving, uh, couldn’t see anything other than his head moving, uh, the head and the shoulders. Uh, just it wasn’t erratic movement it was just slight movements. He, uh, his…goes up to his head with his right hand, uh, somebody else said hey he’s got the gun back up to his head, uh, at that point I couldn’t tell if it was a gun or if it was a phone, uh, or what it was. To me I mean he kinda had it the position of like you would if you’re talking on the phone. Uh, I shouted out hey I don’t *** it might not be a gun, it might, might be a phone I’m not sure. Uh, at that point wasn’t really…I guess I was kind of gamble cuz if it was a gun he was pointing it at me and through himself you know. Uh, but *** he dropped his hand a little bit I could see just the, the bottom half of the phone, uh, yelled out that hey it’s a phone, he’s got the phone. Uh, he, uh, I couldn’t tell if he was talking to anybody or not, uh, then the phone goes…then he, he brings it down. I guess maybe I don’t know ten, twenty seconds later the door to the truck pops open, uh, the driver steps out of the car, uh, he kinda, he’s kinda hunched over and as he gets completely out of the car I see he still has a, uh, he’s got the gun in his left hand, uh, and he’s, as he’s kinda hunched over he S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 10 of 31 starts to, he starts to come up towards, uh, my partners which were behind him, uh, starts to raise the gun up and once I saw him starting to raise the gun that’s when I engaged with my rifle. Uh, engaged him and, and like I said it was four to five, four to five shots, and I fired until he dropped the gun and fell to the ground and the gun was no longer ah, in his hands and pointing at my partners. Uh, once he was down, uh, I just *** I held on him I covered on him while, uh, an arrest team came up and moved in and once they got, once they surrounded him I couldn’t see any-, anything else what was really going on. SMITH: Okay. Uh, I got, uh, an aerial photograph here actually it was taken by I think a fire truck that came out there. And this is, uh, number one picture here and you can see the white truck depicted and then some, some police cars. Do any of these cars, can you maybe identify which one if any of them are in this picture? SHIFFLETT: Uh, mine is, uh, roof top 59 *** the other direction. SMITH: Okay. So. Okay. So that was your car. Uh, on this same picture number one I’m guessing at the top of this picture would southbound Main… SHIFFLETT: Correct. SMITH: …the bottom of the picture would actually be northbound and then to your right would be the West. SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: And the left would be East. What side of the street or where would you be on this where you took a position even, even if it’s out of frame? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 11 of 31 SHIFFLETT: I would be right, right here. SMITH: Okay. So you’re indicating to the right side which would be the West side of Main Street? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. And you said you were somewhat I guess parallel with the truck there? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Alright. Uh, I’m gonna show you one more picture it’s the last one it’s number three, and this is basically a picture from the West side looking at the truck and there’s a tree with some tape around it, does that kinda depict in the area where you would have been standing? SHIFFLETT: That’s my tree. Yes, sir. (SPEAKING SIMULTANEOUSLY) SMITH: So this tree… SHIFFLETT: So that’s what I… SMITH: …is what you used… SHIFFLETT: …that’s, that’s what I used… SMITH: ….for, for cover? SHIFFLETT: …for cover. Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Great. I just ***. Uh, when you were responding to the, uh, the call that came out you said there was a motor officer that put that he had the vehicle, do you remember which officer that was? SHIFFLETT: Oh, I don’t. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 12 of 31 SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: Um… SMITH: It’s okay. Uh, and just for the, the purpose of this tape can you explain what a 960 x-ray is? SHIFFLETT: Uh, it’s a high risk, uh, vehicle stop, uh, for a, uh, for a traffic stop when a, when the driver or the occupants are armed or could be armed. Uh, and it’s just a, uh, it’s more of a slow methodical process rather than walking straight up to the car and, uh, approaching the *** contacting the driver that way. SMITH: Okay. And when you were responding you said that you had directed some, some traffic and basically were getting them *** you’re talking about vehicles that were going southbound is that correct? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Why do you do that? SHIFFLETT: Uh, cuz I, I…I don’t want them in the line of fire. If, if, uh, shots do star-, I mean if shots are fired I don’t want them in a line of fire, uh, and possibly getting, getting struck with a stray round. SMITH: Okay. And on, uh, your unit…so you ended up parking along the curb line on the West curb line… SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: …there and then you took a position at, uh, after I think you said after the gunshot came out then is when you were able to get to your position? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 13 of 31 SMITH: Okay. So when you initially came up you said that you gotten your rifle and you were using the hood which would, would been on the, away from the suspect vehicle you were indicating cover, why do you do that? SHIFFLETT: Uh, because for the same reason I don’t want if, if he starts firing I don’t wanna be in the line of fire to where he can hit me. SMITH: And prior to that when you were responding I think you maybe indicated and correct me if I’m wrong please, if you, when you were driving southbound as you drove past the suspect vehicle that was facing North here you were able to see in and did you, did you tell me at that time you identified that he had a weapon? SHIFFLETT: Yes, I could see he had a pistol. He had a semi-auto up to his, uh, up to his chin. SMITH: Okay. And do you recall what hand he maybe had that in at that time? SHIFFLETT: *** still would have been his, his left hand... SMITH: So… SHIFFLETT: …***. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: I believe, so he had it in his left hand. SMITH: Left hand and it was pointed, uh, you kinda… SHIFFLETT: So… SMITH: …indicated with your finger… SHIFFLETT: …straight up in the air. SMITH: ***. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 14 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Uh, bas-, so it was under his chin kinda and shoot pointing straight up. SMITH: Okay. When that occurred and when you were going on scene did you put that information out or was that information already out on the air? SHIFFLETT: That was already out that he had the gun up to his head. SMITH: Okay. Uh, on your arrival in that unit there were these other units that are indicated, see 31 these are all your, uh, see 24, 99, 64…were these first four cars that were closest to the pickup truck’s rear end were those already in place? SHIFFLETT: I’m pretty sure at least these first three were. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: I think this one was but I can't I can't be sure. SMITH: *** sure, sure. Okay. Uh, taking you back just one step here to when you saw the gun pointed you said it was a semi-auto could you make out, uh, uh, anything else on the gun, a color? SHIFFLETT: It looked, uh, like stainless steel... SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: …uh, or metal finish. SMITH: And as you were driving past coming to that, I see you’re not I mean terribly far from the vehicle facing in the, in the direction *** you’re indicated in the number two lane on the West side of the street facing South, were you in that lane as you drove by so your view would have been what *** traffic lanes approximately ten to twelve feet normally S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 15 of 31 plus the center divider another ten to twelve feet, would that be accurate as far as your distance? SHIFFLETT: Yes…yes, sir. SMITH: So 10, 20, 30…30 to 40 feet somewhere in there when you drove past him? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, when you drove by did you see anybody else in the vehicle? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Was there any indication over the radio of, of anybody inside the vehicle with him? SHIFFLETT: Uh, no sir. SMITH: Was there any, uh, radio traffic when the call first came out of, of any either victims hit by gunfire and or hostages or anything like that? SHIFFLETT: Um, I think…I’m not sure if it went out over the radio, uh, I think that was still kinda of a question if anyone was hit, um, at the original scene where the call came. Um, I think I, by the time I got in to this area I was so focused on the, on the, on the vehicle I think and then there was no other radio traffic coming out just because this was, this had the radio tied up so I don’t remember if they said if anyone was hit or not. SMITH: Okay. Uh, when you were actually getting out and you retrieved your, uh, your rifle did you say the rifle you keep that in your trunk? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 16 of 31 SMITH: Okay. So you retrieved your, uh, your rifle from the trunk and you go to the front of the vehicle and then you have that at your ready and then you said you heard a gunshot. SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, was there any either announcements either by officers in person or over the radio or you said you heard it was there, did you learn before, strike that *** sorry. Did you learn at that time that he had shot himself or shot at officers? You said you didn’t know immediately but at some time after… SHIFFLETT: Right. SMITH: …did you get any report? SHIFFLETT: It, it came…they put out over the radio, uh, that shots were fired no officer…so they put out shots fired but no 998 which is officer involved shooting so. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: They put out that no officers fired, uh, and they put out that suspect, uh, shot himself. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and after that shot came out and I think you said you, is that when you made your weapon ready there your rifle? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. And from there you went to this position in picture three where you went to the tree for cover. SHIFFLETT: Correct, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 17 of 31 SMITH: Okay. Uh, when you got to this position was there any other officer with you? SHIFFLETT: Uh, not initially no, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, at the time of the when you actually fired your rounds was there somebody with you? SHIFFLETT: I believe it was, uh, Officer SANTIAGO was near me. And I *** think Officer LOPEZ was back on, on that side as well…SAL LOPEZ. But I know he was, I think he was in, uh, at a different position but just to the, I mean he was on the West side as well. SMITH: Okay. And maybe this question I should have asked you before the, the rifle that you have is your personal rifle but the City of Santa Ana Police Department authorizes you to carry that so you qualified with that weapon to be able to carry that on patrol? SHIFFLETT: Uh, yes sir that’s mine SWAT, uh, rifle and my patrol rifle. SMITH: Okay. So is a collateral duty you are on the SWAT team? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: How long have you been on that? SHIFFLETT: Uh, just under a year, sir. SMITH: Okay. How often do you train? SHIFFLETT: Uh, we train once a month. Uh, and then once year we or twice a year we do two days a month. SMITH: Okay. And your, your rifle you…as part of being on the SWAT team you regularly fire your particular rifle there and qualify with it? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 18 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: How…do you know how many times you’re required to qualify with your, your duty weapon or your…I’m sorry… SHIFFLETT: Oh. SMITH: …your patrol rifle? SHIFFLETT: We, we qualify pretty much *** several times a year. Uh… SMITH: More than three? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, from the time that you made your rifle ready and went to your position of cover here behind the tree and the gunshot had come out were you able to see this you, were you able to see the suspect anymore there? As you move from the vehicle… SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: …to your cover point? SHIFFLETT: I could see him from the tree much better than where I was at, at the, at the car. SMITH: Okay. When you got to the position of cover and you’re looking there I take it the, the single shot that was the not a 998 involved had already happened? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Looking at the suspect did you see any injuries to him any, uh, evidence that he was bleeding from the face or the head or anything like that at that time? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 19 of 31 SHIFFLETT: It looked like he was bleeding from, uh, from the forehead. SMITH: From the forehead. So based on where you’re standing in this picture number three here is, would be kinda more on his the left side, the driver side of the vehicle? SHIFFLETT: Correct. SMITH: So the blood that you were seeing was more on the left side, left side of his forehead? SHIFFLETT: Uh, I don’t remember which side it was just because, cuz he was moving around a little bit in there… SMITH: Uh-huh. SHIFFLETT: …um, it might have been down the center of his head really I mean, but I, but I’m pretty sure he had blood already kinda trickling down from the *** where his hairline would have been. SMITH: Okay. And after that shot had come out you got in that position and you, you saw the evidence that he had some blood coming from can you kinda go over that what his actions were at that time again for me? Just what was he doing? SHIFFLETT: He was, uh, just kinda slowly moving back and forth it looked like he I mean he could have yeah, definitely sustained a shot, uh… Um, wasn’t sure if that was if he was bleeding out at that point and that was I mean he didn’t, that’s all he had in him, uh, but then, then he started to come to and once he put the phone up to his ear and you could see he was still S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 20 of 31 coherent he was, uh, uh, still able to you know have the mentality that, to make a phone call, uh, to whomever. SMITH: Okay. Uh, I know you said there was some concerns initially when his right hand had gone up to his head that it might be a weapon and at some point you were able to identify that it was in fact not a weapon but a phone? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Is that correct? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Was there anything that caught your attention, you kinda maybe held your hand out like you were indicating was…were you able to see almost like a screen like a back low? SHIFFLETT: He eventually lowered *** I could see the whole phone but, uh, I could see…he lowered it enough to where I could see the bottom half of the phone in his hand, uh, to where you could…yeah you could actually see the, the screen on the phone. SMITH: When you identified that you put that out to the other officers at that point? SHIFFLETT: Yes. SMITH: Okay. Did you do that via voice or over the radio… SHIFFLETT: Just shouting. SMITH: …or both? SHIFFLETT: Shout it out, yes sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 21 of 31 SMITH: Shout it out. SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, during this time were there calls, uh, from other officers to get him out of the vehicle? SHIFFLETT: He was, uh, ordered to throw the weapon out and, uh, both in English and Spanish... SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: …uh, several times and to, and to get out of the vehicle. Uh, but over and over he was ordered to drop the weapon. SMITH: Did you ever hear him prior to getting out of the vehicle any verbal interaction whatsoever between himself and the other officers like no, I’m not doing it you’re gonna have to come get me anything like that, did you ever hear anything from him? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, I know you’re a little bit of a distance at least to hear that he might have been on the phone, did you hear any conversation he may have at that time? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Uh, *** going to the part where he decides to step out of the vehicle were…just prior to that were officers still ordering him out of the vehicle or were they ordering the weapon to be dropped first? SHIFFLETT: I think, uh, it was for the weapon to be dropped… SMITH: Okay. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 22 of 31 SHIFFLETT: …was the main command that was being thrown out to him. SMITH: And after you had seen him, uh, shoot the one round or I should say hear the one round being shot inside the vehicle and before he stepped out did you see the gun again? SHIFFLETT: Uh, once, once he shot and I didn’t see the gun again until he got out of the vehicle. SMITH: Okay. The talk was that there was a phone that was possibly and then you were able to identify it as a phone and then, so you never saw the gun again until he step out of the vehicle? SHIFFLETT: Correct sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and when he did step out of the vehicle were you still in the same position behind the tree for a positional cover? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. And you think that’s when possible either Officer SANTIAGO and or, uh, Officer SAL LOPEZ were with you? SHIFFLETT: I, uh, after, after the arrest team came in I kinda checked my surroundings and SAL was, uh, to the, uh, northwest of where I was. SMITH: Uh-huh. SHIFFLETT: Uh, and then Officer SANTIAGO was with me actually with me behind the tree. SMITH: Okay. Uh, looking at your, your patrol rifle the picture of it here in number two, uh, I see *** it has some type of optic on it is that correct? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 23 of 31 SMITH: What kind of optic is that? SHIFFLETT: It’s an Aimpoint, uh, just, uh, reticle, uh, Reticle Dot. SMITH: Okay. Uh, is there any type of magnification on that? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. (PAUSE) SMITH: When, uh, the suspect ended up stepping out of the vehicle…did he get out facing the officers or facing the street or how did that… SHIFFLETT: He was, uh… SMITH: …happen? SHIFFLETT: I guess kinda catty-corner facing, facing more towards the officers. SMITH: Okay. Did he ever make any eye contact or anything with you or see where you were at, at that point you think? SHIFFLETT: Uh, no I don’t think he knew where I was. SMITH: Okay. Do you think that might have been cuz he was partially incapacitated from his self-inflicted shot? SHIFFLETT: Uh, possible or just the majority of everything, uh, of all the commands that were being given and the majority of the officers they were all behind him so I think his focus was on the mass majority of officers behind him. SMITH: Was there one officer that was *** as maybe the primary person being the, the verbal giving the verbal commands? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 24 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Uh, it seemed to be, uh, you kept, you heard one *** voice more than others. Uh, once he came out of the car I think there were several, uh, drop the gun, drop the gun from several officers, uh… SMITH: How about… SHIFFLETT: …but… SMITH: …you did you make any…I’m sorry go ahead. SHIFFLETT: I don’t remember if I, if I shouted to drop the gun or not. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: Um…he, uh, it was just, just a couple seconds of after him stepping out to where he started pointing it at or raising it up to point at the other officers. I don’t even know if I was *** that a chance to say anything. SMITH: Okay. So when he stepped out at, at what point were you able to identify that he was armed with a weapon? SHIFFLETT: As soon as he had both feet on the ground I could see he had the gun in his hand? SMITH: Do you remember what hand it was in at that time? SHIFFLETT: The left hand. SMITH: Left hand. So if he’s getting out and he’s facing somewhat catty-corner and from your position his right side would have been more exposed to you... SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: …and if he has the gun in his left hand, how is that visible to you? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 25 of 31 SHIFFLETT: As he kinda like I said he was kinda hunched over when he got out of the car. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: Uh, I don’t know if that was from the injury, from self-inflicted injury or if he or it was, uh, tactical move to lower his position I don’t know I think he was just kinda hunched over and you could, you could see the gun was, it wasn’t down directly by his side. SMITH: Okay. So it wasn’t hidden by his…the blade of his body it was actually… SHIFFLETT: Correct. SMITH: …out because he was somewhat hunched over? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. And you could clearly identify that he had a gun in his hand and I think you even mentioned that you announced that to the other officers that you saw a gun? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. How did you put that out do you just yell gun, uh, is there a code 417 or… SHIFFLETT: I think… SMITH: …anything like that? SHIFFLETT: …we, it’s just gun. It’s…yeah, you just kinda shout out gun. SMITH: Okay. Uh, when you said that to identify to the other officers and let them know that you see that did the suspect at any time turn to face you or make any recognition that you had yelled gun? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 26 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Mm, no sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and at some point he’s out of the vehicle does he leave the door open or does he close it? SHIFFLETT: The door’s still open. SMITH: The door’s still open. Uh, but he is standing away from the front driver’s side door and now more towards I guess this would be since it’s a crew cab we’ll call that the, the rear passenger rear, rear door on the driver’s side? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. And looking at this picture I mean is this a pretty good view, and I refer to picture number three is, is a pretty clear view of what you were seeing at that time? SHIFFLETT: Uh, yes sir but I, I was looking over the top left of the tree as opposed to the… SMITH: I see what you are saying. SHIFFLETT: …***. SMITH: So *** would have been on the left side of the tree and not here is where…okay. SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Uh, are you right handed or left handed with your rifle? SHIFFLETT: Right hand. SMITH: Okay. Uh, were you using your optic at that time? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 27 of 31 SMITH: And does your optic require that you have one eye closed, is it a two-eye open or is ***? SHIFFLETT: I, I leave both open. SMITH: Okay. And you’ve trained that way? SHIFFLETT: Uh, yes sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and at the point where you decided to fire your four or five rounds what were his actions at that time? SHIFFLETT: Uh, he…I think after the first shot he kinda he stands up a little bit, uh, there was hesitation between my first and second, uh, and then my follow one shots, uh, he kinda I think I was just, I was just tracking his movement more so I just with my, with my optics as opposed to seeing exactly what his movements *** were if that makes sense. Uh, he kinda comes up and then starts going down, uh, and I just *** my last shot was after, well after my last shot is when he’s down and that was, now the guns out of his hand. SMITH: Okay. So your backdrop, uh, for the shooting would have been his pickup truck cuz he stayed near the passenger, uh, I’m sorry yeah the rear door on the driver’s side would have been your backdrop for, for your shot? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, just prior to shooting let me, let rephrase that. Why did you shoot? SHIFFLETT: Cuz he was *** he was fixing to fire at my partners. SMITH: And what actions did he do that indicated that to you? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 28 of 31 SHIFFLETT: He started raising his gun towards him. SMITH: Okay. How did that make you feel? SHIFFLETT: Uh, I went into just protective mode I’m not gonna let anybody harm my brothers. SMITH: Okay. Uh, were you in fear for their safety? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Were you in fear for your own? SHIFFLETT: Uh, yes sir. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: More so, more so their safety than mine cuz that’s where his *** the direct threat was or the direct harm was to them, uh, but he just easily could have turned towards me and started shooting as well. SMITH: And when you say the direct threat was to them is that because when he stepped out of the vehicle and you identified that he had a gun in his left hand he is facing more towards the vehicle or directly behind him versus you at a position of cover West of him? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, do you know how many offices shot or could you identify at that time? SHIFFLETT: Uh, no sir. SMITH: What is… SHIFFLETT: I heard other shots but I didn’t, I couldn’t tell how many were firing? SMITH: And you believe you shot four to five rounds? S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 29 of 31 SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Uh, and going back to that there’s some in your picture here of your rifle there’s some loose ammo is that ammo that you used…is that department issued ammo? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Do you know what kind it is? Grain or… SHIFFLETT: ***… SMITH: …anything like that or…? SHIFFLETT: No, sir. SMITH: Okay. SHIFFLETT: *** I’d be guessing. SMITH: Okay. That’s fine. Uh…so you fire once I think you said and then you hesitated between that and then your remaining would be three to four rounds I think is what you ***? SHIFFLETT: What I remember after the playback was a boom, boom boom boom boom…kinda, so there was, uh, not a lar-, not a big delay, uh, but not as fast as *** as my follow up shots. SMITH: Okay. So your first shot was, was a little bit gap between your remaining either three or, three or four? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Uh, at some point did you make an assessment if your shots were if effective did it stop a threat… SHIFFLETT: Uh… S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 30 of 31 SMITH: …what you perceived as a threat to your partners? SHIFFLETT: Yes. SMITH: Okay. Um, do you have any questions ***? UNKNOWN: *** sir. SMITH: Sir, anything you wanna clarify ***? GOLDWASSER: No. SMITH: Okay. Give me just one second here to make sure I covered everything, sir ***. (PAUSE) Uh, did you end up giving any type of, uh, safety statement or anything like that while you were at the scene? SHIFFLETT: Uh, yes sir I think it was to the sergeant CHIN. SMITH: Okay. Uh, and prior to this interview and after the shooting have you had any either viewings of either on social media or on the news or anything like that, uh, any video of the actual shooting? SHIFFLETT: There’s, uh, *** it was on the news I mean I saw that there was video footage from the, I think it was, uh, the South side of someone recording it. SMITH: Okay. Uh… SHIFFLETT: I think it was stopped before the actual shooting though. SMITH: Okay. So it was just a, uh, uh, a brief piece of it but not including the officer involved shooting part of it? SHIFFLETT: Yes, sir. SMITH: Okay. Okay. Uh, any questions with that? GOLDWASSER: No, sir. S.A. 15-005 Investigator: R. SMITH Approved By: Date of Report:7/1/15 Date: 07/08/2015 Page 31 of 31 SMITH: Okay. Great we’re gonna go ahead and, uh, end the interview at 1349 hour. [END OF INTERVIEW]