[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”9900 block of Aldgate Avenue, Garden Grove, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
A Garden Grove police officer was justified when he fatally shot a suspect who was threatening a couple inside their home and fighting with one of the residents over a shotgun, according to a report released Tuesday by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the report, Cpl. Timothy Kovacs “did not commit a crime.”
“On the contrary, Cpl. Kovacs’ reasonable actions helped control a situation where the lives of innocent people were in danger,” prosecutors concluded.
The fatal shooting occurred around 8 a.m. Nov. 1, 2014, at a home in the 9900 block of Aldgate Avenue. According to police and prosecutors, 43-year- old Frank Brantley Jr. broke into the home and told the couple inside that he was being chased by gang members. The man inside the home grabbed a shotgun, while Brantley made a phone call, possibly to a girlfriend, according to the district attorney report. The resident’s wife called 911, and police arrived a short time later.
When officers arrived, Brantley wouldn’t allow the residents to open the door, claiming there was a warrant for his arrest. He then grabbed the woman and held a knife to her throat. She managed to break free and open the door, while Brantley and the man in the home began struggling over the shotgun, according to the report.
Kovacs was one of the officers at the home, and saw Brantley and the resident struggling over the weapon, which eventually was pointed at Kovacs by Brantley. Kovacs shot Brantley three times, according to the report.
“Kovacs was fully justified in his reasonable assessment that Brantley posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to himself,” the resident and other officers, according to the report.
— City News Service