By Captain Tammany Brooks, Antioch Police Support Services Division

Tragically, on June 28, 2012, Denny Gonzales lost his life in the City of Antioch in a confrontation with the City of Antioch police. Gonzales, a local barber, who was later found to have been emotionally distraught and significantly intoxicated, was shot and killed when he challenged Antioch Police Department (APD) officers with a firearm in front of his Antioch home. On that date, Gonzales had made numerous statements to the police that clearly indicated he was homicidal, including comments that he was going to kill a police officer and other threats. APD officers then located Gonzales at his home in Antioch and started the process of gathering police resources, cordoning off the area, surrounding Gonzales’ house and warning nearby residents, to protect officers and the public.

While the APD was putting the necessary resources into place, Gonzales came out onto his driveway voluntarily and unannounced, with a firearm in his right hand and with unknown intentions. When nearby APD officers ordered Gonzales to drop the firearm, Gonzales did not drop the firearm, instead making a movement with his right arm and pointing the firearm at officers while he attempted to move back towards the cover of his garage. As the lives of the nearby officers were in imminent danger at that point, deadly force was used, killing Gonzales. Video of the incident taken from a fixed wing CHP plane clearly demonstrated that Gonzales pointed his weapon towards officers in this incident.

In 2013, the wife of Gonzales and his young daughter filed a lawsuit against the City of Antioch for claimed civil rights violations and negligence.

Yesterday, after an extensively briefed and argued Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the City to challenge the sufficiency of the allegations against them, Judge Westmore of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled in favor of the City of Antioch on all claims, dismissing this lawsuit. Judge Westmore found that “a reasonable officer at the scene would have reasonably believed that Mr. Gonzales posed a threat of serious physical harm to him or his fellow officers, justifying the use of deadly force.” Pgs. 29-30. Judge Westmore went on to state that “the undisputed evidence shows that the officers acted reasonably under the totality of the circumstances, and the City, therefore, faces no liability for the officers’ conduct.” Pg. 30. Judge Westmore’s extensive Order is attached.

Lead trial attorney for the City, Noah G. Blechman, Esq., from the McNamara Law Firm in Walnut Creek, praised the ruling by the Court.

“The parties laid out all the relevant evidence for the Court and Judge Westmore made the right decision in this unfortunate case,” he stated. “When an individual with homicidal intentions comes out in public with a firearm and challenges officers, federal and state law permits a police officer to deploy deadly force to protect themselves, as well as to protect the public, from imminent death or serious injury. The Court rightly found that the involved officers of the Antioch Police Department and the tactical supervisors involved acted reasonably and appropriately throughout this incident. Judge Westmore’s ruling is clear vindication for those involved officers who were face to face with a deadly situation and acted in accordance with their extensive training and in conformity with the law.”

The City of Antioch wishes to express their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Denny Gonzales who have suffered from this unfortunate incident. The City of Antioch also wants to praise the actions of those involved officers and supervisors for their efforts which no doubt likely saved the lives the others on June 28, 2012.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 at 3:39 pm and is filed under News, Police & Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.