In early March, a California sheriff’s deputy got into an altercation with a homeless man who was allegedly throwing objects at cars while wandering aimlessly across the intersection of a highway.
Danville Police Officer Andrew Hall fatally shot 32-year-old homeless man Tyrell Wilson, after the suspect threatened then pulled a knife on the officer. Wilson proceeded to lunge at Officer Hall which led to him being fatally shot.
Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston said that Hall’s decision to shoot Wilson was justified after reviewing the bodycam footage, which was released Wednesday.
According to the footage, Hall can be seen telling Wilson to "come here" as he walked in the middle of an intersection attacking cars with rocks.
"Come here, come here," Hall told Wilson, as he refused to obey orders. "We’re not playing this game, dude. You’re jaywalking, you’re throwing rocks."
The footage proceeded to show Hall announcing himself as a Danville police officer which led to Wilson threatening Hall, saying "don’t f–king touch me, touch me and see what’s up." This altercation led to Wilson pulling out a knife and encouraging officer Hall to kill him.
"Kill me," said Wilson to Hall. Shortly after, Wilson lunged at Hall with a knife which led to the officer firing shots. Wilson died of a gunshot wound days later.
"Any loss of life is tragic, but the community can now see the truth," said Sheriff Livingston. "He did threaten Officer Hall. And he did start advancing toward Officer Hall in the middle of a major intersection. Officers are forced to make split-second decisions to protect themselves and the public and that’s what happened here."
According to the New York Post, the footage was released the same day officer Hall was criminally charged on the basis of a separate incident for fatally shooting Laudemer Arboleda, 33, during a vehicle pursuit in November 2018.
Hall was charged by Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton with voluntary manslaughter and felony assault with a semi-automatic firearm. If convicted he faces up to 22 years in prison.
Prosecuting attorneys said the shooting of Wilson could have been prevented had Hall been taken into custody earlier and said Officer Hall did not need to shoot Wilson.
"Wilson could be alive if Hall had been prosecuted earlier," attorney John Burris told the East Bay Times. "It was clear it was not necessary," Burris said of the shooting. "The officer had all this room."
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