YPD officer cleared in fatal shooting
Woman armed with gun was killed during altercation in parking lot
The Yuma police officer who shot and killed a gunwielding woman during a domestic dispute at a downtown parking lot in May has been cleared by the Yuma County Attorney’s Office of any wrongdoing.
In a report sent to Police Chief John Lekan, Yuma County Attorney Jon Smith wrote that after reviewing all relevant information in the case, his office has concluded that the shooting, which claimed the life of 49-year-old Lisa Michelle Rivera, was a justifiable use of deadly force by the police officer.
The report states that on the afternoon of May 7, Yuma police officer Scott Carpenter responded to a domestic disturbance call in the west parking lot of the Gowan Company, located at 370 S. Main St. The disturbance was between Rivera and her husband, Micheal.
Both were employees of the Gowan Company and were in the process of getting divorced. Witnesses told police that Rivera was extremely upset about the situation and that, earlier in the day, she had threatened to kill her husband and herself.
Officer Joseph Van Horn, who arrived on scene first, initially in response to a different call, was advised of the domestic dispute between Rivera and her husband and saw her drive away from the parking lot after the argument.
While officers Van Horn and Carpenter were still in the parking lot with Rivera’s husband and two coworkers, she returned. Rivera abruptly stopped her car, got out, and quickly began running toward her husband, police said.
Officer Carpenter quickly intervened, and physically retrained her from getting any closer to her husband, according to YPD. Officer Van Horn assisted.
Rivera was eventually taken to the ground, with
officer Carpenter holding her right arm and officer Van Horn holding her by the left arm. It was at this point that officer Van Horn, a five-year member of the force, suddenly yelled “gun” and fired one shot, striking Rivera in the right upper area of her chest.
“Based on the information provided, it appears that almost immediately Officer Van Horn noticed a small handgun in (Rivera’s) right hand,” Smith wrote in the report. “(Rivera) pointed the weapon in the direction of officer Van Horn.”
Officer Carpenter also saw the gun in Rivera’s hand, but by that time officer Van Horn had already shot Rivera. Both officers the backed away with officer Carpenter now drawing his weapon. Rivera was lying motionless on the ground.
“One witness reported seeing (Rivera) with a gun in her hand before she was restrained by the officers,” Smith wrote in the report.
Rivera had been armed with a .380-caliber handgun. Although the weapon was not loaded, Smith indicated in the report that the officers had no way of knowing that. An unspent .380-caliber cartridge was found near Rivera’s body after she was shot.
The autopsy report also indicated that the gunshot wound was the cause of Rivera’s death and that toxicology results show that she had alcohol in her blood at the time of her death, which corroborates witnesses who observed a strong odor of alcohol on her breath.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.