DA Says Officer-Involved Shooting Was Justified

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s office has determined an Elk Grove police officer acted lawfully when he shot an unarmed, handcuffed suspect earlier this year.

The finding, outlined in an 11-page letter sent Friday by District Attorney Jan Scully to Chief Robert Lehner, echoes that of an internal investigation by the department into the January 30 shooting of Elk Grove resident , 32.

The letter says the shooting was justified because officers believed Hesselbein was armed. It also for the first time publicly identifies the officer who fired the shot, Paul Beckham, who remains on duty.

"Officer Beckham had the right to act in self-defense and in defense of his fellow officers," the letter reads. "Hesselbein repeatedly told officers he had a gun...Given the circumstances, Officer Beckham was justified in using deadly force."

Hesselbein received minor injuries when a bullet grazed his face in the , which took place after police were called to his home for a domestic dispute.

“When you call for help, you don't expect your husband to get shot,” Hesselbein's wife, Nicole Hesselbein, in the wake of the shooting.

Neither Hesselbein or his attorney, Stewart Katz, could be reached for comment by press time. But The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday that Hesselbein, who has already filed an official complaint against the City of Elk Grove, plans to sue the city for excessive force in civil court this week.

Katz told the Bee officers had other options besides deadly force to defend themselves, including using a Taser or aiming at other parts of Hesselbein's body besides his head.

Elk Grove Police spokesperson Christopher Trim declined to comment on the district attorney's letter, citing pending litigation.

The letter describes Hesselbein, who has a criminal record, as confused and combative in the moments just before and after the shooting, saying he had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit for driving and at times seemed to be suicidal.

It says officers were called to the Hesselbeins' house on Callippe Way by Nicole Hesselbein, who said her husband was acting erratically and she feared for the safety of the couple's two-year-old daughter.

Officers told investigators that when they went to confront Hesselbein at the house, they saw him from a distance take "a shooting position" and believed he was armed.

Hesselbein subsequently surrendered outside the house and the officers searched him for weapons, finding none, the letter says.

But after Hesselbein was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, the account continues, he yelled "I got a gun," and "appeared to be trying to access something in his waistband."

The report says Officer Beckham, who was standing by the patrol car's rear side door, warned Hesselbein he might shoot him in the head, saying "Stop moving or I'll peel your grape, do you understand?"

After that, a fellow policeman the report identifies as Officer Diaz testified, "Hesselbein quickly reached into his pants, digging the furthest he had, and his right hand started to come up." It was then that Beckham shot Hesselbein.

Officers searched Hesselbein again after he was shot, but no weapon was ever recovered.

The report closely tracks the version of events . Scully also says that Hesselbein himself told the officers more than once on the way to the hospital that Beckham had done the right thing by shooting him.

The finding comes just before the district attorney's office police department actions in officer-involved shooting cases due to budget cuts. The reviews, which have been conducted for decades, were intended to provide a check on the power of police departments. But critics have called them a rubber stamp for police decisions, noting that none of the nearly 100 reviews of officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths undertaken by the agency over the last ten years has resulted in a prosecution.