A Huntington Beach police officer who fatally shot a homeless Navy veteran outside a 7-Eleven convenience store in September will not face any criminal charges, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced Wednesday.
Officer Eric Esparza was justified when he shot 27-year-old Dillan J. Tabares on Sept. 22 outside the store at 6012 Edinger Ave., according to Assistant District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh, who wrote the report on the shooting.
Days before Tabares was killed, he allegedly beat to death an 80-year- old benefactor, Richard Darland, Huntington Beach police said in October.
Esparza refused to make a statement to investigators, but that cannot be held against him in the analysis of the shooting, Baytieh said. Investigators based their analysis of what happened between Tabares and Esparza on statements from witnesses, another officer who arrived on scene of the shooting and surveillance video.
Still unclear is why Esparza decided to contact Tabares before the deadly struggle between the two.
Witnesses said they saw Tabares grabbing at Esparza’s belt or holster as the two wrestled in the store’s parking lot, according to Baytieh. Esparza tried to subdue Tabares without success with a Taser. Witnesses said Tabares appeared to be on drugs and had superhuman strength, Baytieh said.
Tabares was seen punching the officer before the two fell to the ground and wrestled, Baytieh said.
The officer’s flashlight was found near the body, Baytieh said. Methamphetamine was found in Tabares’ system after the autopsy.
Family members said Tabares had been struggling with drugs and homelessness and had been refusing help.
Tabares had a criminal history of reckless driving, driving drunk, possession of a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and battery with serious bodily injury, Baytieh said.
“It is clear in this case, based on the totality of all the available evidence, Officer Esparza was justified in believing Tabares posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to Officer Esparza and possibly other civilians in the parking lot,” Baytieh wrote in his report.
It didn’t matter why Esparza confronted Tabares in the first place, the prosecutor said.
“It is lawful for a police officer to attempt to make consensual contact with a pedestrian in a public area, and the pedestrian is not legally permitted to respond to such contact by charging at the officer and punching him,” Baytieh said.
–City News Service