Officer cleared

proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Mateu’s belief that he or someone else was in imminent danger of being killed was unreasonable,” O’Malley wrote.

The incident began around 4:40 p.m. as Tindle walked with his fiancee, their two young children and his fiancee’s sister toward the BART station, officials said.

Tindle got into an argument with another man, apparently over a pair of Nike Air Jordans, prosecutors said. The other man, who was not named by the district attorney’s office, told investigators that Tindle pulled the gun out, threatened him with it and put it away before continuing on with his family, officials said.

But as his family continued on to BART, witnesses told investigators that Tindle doubled back and continued to argue with the man, recording the man on his cell phone as he went into a burrito shop near Seventh and Chester streets, prosecutors said.

The man then came out of the burrito shop and grabbed Tindle, and a struggle ensued in which two shots were fired, officials said. One bullet traveled through the window of a nearby barber shop, while the other bullet went through the man’s leg as he struggled with Tindle.

The wounded man later told investigators that Tindle fired the weapon, but criminalists did not find gunshot residue on Tindle’s hands, prosecutors said.

The shots sent bystanders scrambling and caught the attention of Mateu, who was in the process of stopping a BART rider for fare evasion inside the station. Footage from Mateu’s body camera showed him running through a parking lot to Seventh Street, where he found the men grappling on the ground outside the barbershop.

Mateu drew his gun and twice shouted, “Let me see your hands,” before shooting Tindle three times in the back. Tindle later died at a hospital. The other man was treated and released. Investigators interviewed Mateu, a 15-year veteran of the force, for a little more than an hour following the shooting.

“Officer Mateu saw that the male, later identified as Mr. Tindle, was holding a black pistol in his left hand. Mr. Tindle’s hand was on the ground, he was holding the gun by the grip, and the gun was pointed towards the barbershop,” O’Malley wrote.

As the men continued to fight over the gun, Mateu told investigators that he feared that Mr. Tindle had the gun and he “could have easily” shot the other man or himself and that deadly force was the only option, prosecutors said.

Before the investigation was complete, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas had defended Mateu, calling the incident a “very challenging situation” and commending the officer for running toward the sound of gunfire.

“This officer didn’t create this,” the chief said at a February news conference. “He had to deal with what was created before he arrived.”

Mateu was later considered for a stepped-up position as a field training officer, but Rojas put the promotion on hold after The Chronicle called BART to ask about it.

Tindle’s family filed a federal civil rights suit against BART last month. Oakland attorney John Burris, who is representing the family, said he was not surprised by the district attorney’s decision.

“I’m sure they’re disappointed,” Burris said of Tindle’s family. “They thought that the investigation might support a criminal prosecution, but I didn’t see that happening.”

He said the decision will not affect the civil suit.

Tindle’s mother, Yolanda Banks-Reed, said she was similarly prepared for the decision.

“I wasn’t in shock,” she said. “Although she’s seen it with her own eyes, the district attorney is going to follow the pattern she’s used to and find this officer not guilty of murder. Where is the justice?”