Santa Cruz. Co Deputies Cleared Of Wrongdoing In April Shooting

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Three Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies were cleared of wrongdoing Thursday following an April shooting in Aptos, District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell announced.

No charges will be filed after a "comprehensive review" conducted by the DA's Office, during which investigators conducted interviews, reviewed video and audio recordings, and more. Their use of force was justified, Rosell determined.

Discretion advised: This post includes details that may be disturbing to some readers.

Video of the April 6 shooting in an Aptos parking lot was released about a week after the encounter.

Deputy Calum Cecil-Wherity shot Eli Burry, 40, of Soquel after Burry traded fire with deputies that night, according to the sheriff's office. Burry was hospitalized and officials were awaiting medical clearance to book him into jail as of April 14.

Deputies were first called to the shopping center at 7960 Soquel Dr. after receiving a report of a suspicious car, Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner Jim Hart said at the time. Three deputies approached the car, which was registered to Burry, and asked Burry and his friend to open their doors.

Deputy Joshua McKim asked Burry to get out of his car and attempted to handcuff Burry because he had a previous weapons charge, officials said. McKim successfully handcuffed Burry's left hand, but Burry resisted the deputy's attempt to handcuff his free right hand, according to the video.

Meanwhile, Cecil-Wherity spotted an apparent weapon in between the front seats of the car, below the area where McKim's hand was hovering, the video showed.

"You're making me really nervous," McKim could be heard saying on the video.

"If you reach for that, I will shoot you," Cecil-Wherity said on the video.

Burry repeatedly asked deputies to shoot him, according to the video. McKim's body camera is briefly obstructed but showed that Burry picked up what appeared to be a handgun.

Deputies later learned it was a flare gun loaded with a shotgun shell — a weapon that can cause injury and damage equivalent to a firearm, said sheriff's office spokesperson Ashley Keehn.

McKim used a stun gun on Burry, according to the video. It's unclear what immediately followed. The deputies backed off and retreated behind the car's closed doors. Cecil-Wherity directed the passenger to get on the ground, the video showed.

That's when Burry appeared to fire the flare gun in an unknown direction, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies repeatedly ask Burry to show his hands and get on the ground. He continued to ask that the deputies shoot him and advanced toward deputies while reaching inside his jacket, the sheriff's office said.

Cecil-Wherity fired several rounds at Burry, who fell to the ground, according to the video. He apologized to the deputies and said that he wanted to die, according to the video.

"We don't want to kill you, dude," a deputy can be heard saying on the video.

Deputies treated Burry until paramedics arrived, the sheriff's office said.

Additional weapons and drug paraphernalia were found in Burry's car, the sheriff's office said.

Patch has reached out to the DA's office for the name of the third deputy cleared Thursday.

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