DA clears Pittsburg cops who shot and killed man in 2018 standoff

PITTSBURG >> The Contra Costa district attorney has cleared four Pittsburg officers who in 2018 shot and killed an armed man during a two-hour standoff, writing that an officer might have wound up dead if the officers hadn’t used lethal force.

In a 36-page report released to the public Monday, DA Diana Becton found that none of the three officers committed a crime when they fired at 36-yearold Salvador Morales, a Pittsburg resident who was wanted for allegedly kidnapping his estranged wife and their baby, and non- fatally shooting his brother-in-law earlier that day. The officers have been identified as Sgts. William Hatcher, Gabriel Palma and Chuck Blazer and Cpl. Alex McCray.

The report notes that video shows Morales fired a shot moments before the officers opened fire, though in interviews, the officers cited something else as their reason for firing: that Morales raised his handgun in their direction. In the moments before the shooting, an officer struck Morales with a less-lethal rubber round, which may have caused him to pull the trigger and fire a shot into the ground before raising his handgun.

“Had any of the officers waited to take action, the consequences of such inaction could have resulted in any of their deaths,” the DA’s report said. “Given the totality of the circumstances, the officers’ belief that their safety and the safety of their fellow officers was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury was more than reasonable.”

Morales had three gunshot wounds to his head and two to his arm. He was pronounced dead at the front steps of the residence on West 10th Street in Pittsburg, where the standoff occurred. In the hours leading up to the standoff, Morales allegedly shot his brotherin- law in the neck, kidnapped his wife and baby, and led police on a chase through east Contra Costa. He dropped off his wife and baby during the chase and high-tailed it back to Pittsburg, where he entered the home and refused to leave.

The report said that the officers were aware Morales had shot someone earlier that day and it concludes that may have “reasonably” factored into their decision to shoot him.

Hatcher fired three to four shots and Blazer fired two to three rounds at Morales, the report said. Palma and McCray each fired once. In interviews, each officer basically recounted the same process: That they believed Morales was firing at officers or readying himself to fire. They also said Morales appeared “agitated” and “emotional” when he exited the home moments before the shooting, the report sayid