Contra Costa Co. DA Explains Decision To Not Charge Officer In Fatal Shooting

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA -- Contra Costa County District Attorney's officials offered rationale behind the decision not to charge a Richmond police officer who killed an unarmed man during a 2014 incident in a report released today.

The report provided an account of what led to Richmond police Officer Wallace Jensen shooting 24-year-old Richard "Pedie" Perez outside a liquor store on Sept. 14, 2014, but the details are disputed by the man's
family.

Last year, the District Attorney's office deemed the officer's actions justified in a joint internal investigation with the Richmond Police Department.

After the Richmond City Council requested it, Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson provided an explanation for the finding and why charges were not filed against Jensen.

The report primarily relayed Jensen's story, in which the officer said Perez was attempting to reach for his firearm during a scuffle. Witnesses and video footage were alluded to but were not described in detail.

"No information was developed which would refute the officer's description of events," Peterson states in the report, following an explanation that the officer's need for self-defense was reasonable because he was in a fight for his handgun.

Perez's family has been vocal at Richmond City Council meetings about their disagreements with the version of events from police.

Rick Perez, the man's father, said at least four witnesses contradict Jensen's statements about Perez reaching for the officer's weapon.

They instead depict the officer as the aggressor, Perez said.

Jensen's story, as conveyed during an interview with an attorney present, begins with him encountering Perez because there were ongoing issues with loitering outside Uncle Sam's Liquors at 3322 Cutting Blvd., according to the District Attorney's office report.

He said a store clerk there identified Perez as "causing problems." He found Perez intoxicated, which the reports states was confirmed in a coroner's office toxicology report.

Jensen said Perez was uncooperative and tried to walk away while being detained, which the officer responded to by using a judo move to take him to the ground. He tried to call police assistance using his radio but he was on the wrong frequency, according to the report.

During a subsequent fight, during which Perez freed himself and stood up multiple times, the officer allegedly felt Perez reaching for his firearm and trying to take it out of its holster.

When, according to Jensen, the man continued trying to grab for his gun, Jensen shot at the man. He fired two more shots when Perez said the man "charged at him."

The man's father said today that the version of events in the report is misleading, and that he would continue efforts to fight for the story he's heard from witnesses to come to light.

"I can't get what I want out of this -- which is for my son to come back," he said. "We just want the truth to come out. We want accountability."

Peterson, in an appearance before the City Council earlier this year, committed to interview "previously unidentified witnesses" in the case.

He also wrote in the report today that he's willing to review his office's findings with the family, but that multiple efforts to reach the family have been unsuccessful.

"There is probably little I can do or say to the Perez family which will dissuade them from their belief that charges should be filed against the officer," Peterson wrote in the report.

The family settled a lawsuit with the city in February that was initially filed in an effort to have Jensen stripped of his firearm and his ability to carry a firearm. In the settlement, the city did not admit liability for the shooting.

Also see:

• Special-Needs School In Contra Costa Co. To Close After Alleged Abuse Reports
• Loophole Uncovered: Some Contra Costa Co. Voter Ballots Counted Twice

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