Justice Department review of Andy Lopez shooting renews debate

Community reaction was divided Thursday to a federal review that found a Sonoma County deputy sheriff did not breach civil rights laws in the death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez, revealing the deep fissures that remain nearly two years after the shooting.

Law enforcement leaders said the Justice Department findings reaffirmed the integrity of local reviews that found Deputy Erick Gelhaus did not violate criminal laws or Sheriff’s Office policies.

Community activists, who demanded changes in police practices following the 2013 shooting, said the federal review displays the difficulty of prosecuting law enforcement officers involved in civilian deaths.

The U.S. Justice Department focus was narrow, reviewing “this particular deputy and this particular incident” under federal laws that protect people subjected to “willfully used excessive force,” Justice Department spokesman Abraham Simmons said Thursday. No violations were found.

An attorney for the Lopez family said the federal findings will have no bearing on a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the boy’s parents against Gelhaus and the county, which is scheduled to go to trial in April 2016. The Justice Department reached its conclusion because prosecutors “didn’t believe they could meet the very high level of proof for a federal prosecution,” said Arnoldo Casillas, who is representing the Lopez family.

“Andy and his mother and father will have their day in court, and that day in court is going to come in April of 2016 where we are going to present all of the true facts in front of a jury in Oakland,” Casillas said.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said she gave the FBI the final reports and related documents from her office’s criminal investigation into the shooting, but had no other involvement in the federal case.

Ravitch expressed hope that the conclusion of the federal review would help the community focus on a series of initiatives launched since Lopez’s death to address the community’s confidence in law enforcement.

“There are a lot of positives that are coming out of a tragic situation and it’s a dialogue that will make this a better, healthier safer place to live,” Ravitch said, noting the adoption of body cameras in law enforcement agencies throughout the county and a renewed commitment to community-oriented policing.

The outcome of the federal investigation was a foregone conclusion and a disappointment to some activists in Sonoma County who have been engaged in developing plans to improve police-community relations in the two years since Lopez died.

“I’m extremely disappointed and sad for the Lopez family,” said Santa Rosa resident Caroline Bañuelos, who chaired the county-appointed Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force formed after Lopez’s death. The group was charged with listening to public complaints about police practices and creating an action plan to address a deep community rift with law enforcement, especially in the county’s immigrant and minority communities.

She said the decision called into question what evidence the FBI actually analyzed. Bañuelos described Gelhaus’ actions as “a mistake” but said the lack of repercussions for that mistake sent the message that the deputy’s life was worth more than Lopez’s.

“For communities of color, that’s not acceptable. We have to keep fighting, we have to keep working for change,” she said, emphasizing she was speaking for herself and not the task force.

Laws offer extensive legal protections to peace officers acting on the job, and those laws are a structural barrier that “prevent the finding of any wrongdoing,” said Robert Edmonds, a police accountability activist from Sebastopol who served as vice chair of the task force.

“After all this work we’ve gone through, I see that there isn’t a lot that can be done in the current context,” Edmonds said.

Edmonds and Bañuelos have urged the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to demand state lawmakers change laws, including the Peace Officers Bill of Rights, that inhibit oversight and transparency.

“All of those laws are designed to avoid any commission of wrongdoing. It leaves broad discretion on the part of any peace officer,” Edmonds said.

On Oct. 22, 2013, Lopez was walking down Moorland Avenue on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, carrying an Airsoft BB gun designed to look like an AK-47 rifle, when he was shot by Gelhaus. Gelhaus told investigators he mistook the boy’s gun for a real weapon. He had ordered the boy to drop the gun, but instead the teen began turning toward him, raising the barrel.

While Gelhaus has been cleared of any wrongdoing in reviews conducted by the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney and Justice Department, the latest finding left some members of the community feeling that it was another lost opportunity to provide a sense of justice after Lopez’s death.

Ana Salgado, a resident of Santa Rosa’s West Ninth neighborhood who has been a vocal participant at protests and task force meetings, said she had been upset since she heard the news Wednesday.

“I don’t understand the law completely, but everybody says the same thing: He should have had some kind of punishment,” said Salgado.

Last month, the Board of Supervisors budgeted $2.6 million to start implementing a series of projects aimed at improving police-community relations, including forming a new independent office charged with providing civilian oversight of law enforcement.

Jim Duffy, a 50-year-old father from Rohnert Park who provided extensive research into models for civilian oversight of law enforcement to the task force that formed the basis for the group’s proposal, said that a civil rights violation is a “very high bar” and “you’ve really got to be a rogue officer, of which there are very few.”

“Did I think Gelhaus did anything horribly wrong? No. Do I think he should have handled things a little bit different? Yes,” Duffy said.

Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff’s Association President Joe Dulworth called the findings “another step forward.” Dulworth said that the association’s membership of about 250 sworn deputies had no contact with the investigators, to his knowledge, and that the review was conducted with complete independence.

“This was another independent body that looked at it,” Dulworth said of the shooting. “It reaffirms what we already believe: That this was a tragic incident that could have happened to any one of us. It just so happened it was Erick and his trainee on that day.”

Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas said through a spokeswoman Thursday that he would not elaborate on a statement he issued Wednesday. In that message, Freitas reiterated his support for Gelhaus.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Ceclie Focha said that any questions about the scope of the federal investigation, including whether the Sheriff’s Office participated by providing access to documents or staff, should be addressed to the FBI.

Simmons, the Justice Department spokesman, said that he couldn’t yet release further details about the scope of the federal investigation. He said the office is considering The Press Democrat’s request to release the report and related documents to the public.

Ravitch said the federal review was done independently of her office and that her staff had no contact with federal investigators, other than occasional updates regarding when it might be done.

Following any officer-involved shooting in Sonoma County, the investigating agency sends its report to the FBI as a matter of routine, Ravitch said. Her office took the additional step after the Lopez shooting of sending its investigation to the FBI, which is not typical.

“I took the extra step of reaching out to the U.S. Attorney because of the heightened concern about my involvement in the case; we were involved in a contested election and people were questioning my role in (the investigation),” Ravitch said.

Ravitch said that she has not seen the FBI’s report but was called by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag on Wednesday and notified of the outcome. Ravitch said Haag called her after meeting with Lopez’s family.

Ravitch called the shooting “a mark on the history of Sonoma County that will always be with us.”

“We have as a community been incredibly impacted by the events that occurred that day and as a community we are addressing the many, many issues that came to light as a result of those tragic moments,” she said.

Staff Writer Jamie Hansen contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.