Police Chief Promises Transparency In Fatal Officer Shooting

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A community shaken by the police shooting of 23-year-old Miles Hall packed the chambers of the Walnut Creek City Council Tuesday night to demand accountability from city officials overseeing the investigation into his death.

Hall was in the midst of a mental health crisis when his family called for help around 4:40 p.m. on June 2.

Police knew him, and responding officers called out to him by name when they arrived on scene. He ran in their direction, wearing a red cloth over his face and carrying a long metal pry bar, but as he got closer they commanded him to stop.

He kept running. An officer with a less-lethal shotgun fired several beanbag rounds in an attempt to stop Hall's forward progress, but a moment later other officers opened fire and he was fatally wounded.

The officers were equipped with body-worn cameras, and footage of the incident has been made available to the public, but several people in attendance Tuesday night said the video evidence does not support the officers' account of how events transpired.

>>Police Body Cam Video Of Walnut Creek Shooting Released (Video)

Police claimed Hall was running at them, but neighbor Tim Pennington says the video shows Hall clearly attempting to run away.

"He was clearly trying not to engage, but to run past them," Pennington said to the council.

"It is unclear to me how anyone could view this part of the video and conclude that the officers who fired their weapons were justified in doing so because it was necessary to protect themselves," Pennington said.

There were at least 100 people in attendance, and there seemed to be a consensus among them that Hall's death had been a tragic and preventable mistake.

>>Man Threatens Grandmother, Mom With Metal Bar, Killed By WCPD

"There's a few holes in this story that really bother me," said Rod Olson, a Walnut Creek resident and friend of Hall's family. "The body cam footage ... It doesn't match what actually happened."

"I really hope there's justice for these officers that were involved," Olson said. "There's got to be some jail time involved."

That decision is up to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, and after the conclusion of public comment, City Manager Dan Buckshi called it "absolutely imperative" to allow that agency's investigation to occur over the coming months.

Police Chief Tom Chaplin committed to maximum transparency in his department's own internal investigation into Hall's death.

"You will in the coming months have access to every shred of information, with regards to reports, with regards to audio, with regards to video, and I'm not going to promise you that won't be painful," Chaplin said. "We're not going to hide anything from you."

The city attorney advised the City Council against taking any formal action on the matter, as it was not on Tuesday night's agenda so such action would violate state open meetings laws, but each of the councilmembers offered their condolences to the friends and family of Hall.

Civil rights attorney John Burris, who is representing Hall's family in a wrongful death lawsuit, praised their words as a rare expression of humanity on the part of elected officials.

"But it doesn't go to the question of guilt or innocence," Burris said.

"People here could see clearly that the officers didn't have to kill him," Burris said. "That's the part that's most disturbing."

"The only real option is you've got to prosecute," Burris said. "It was murder."

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