SAN BERNARDINO – A pair of San Bernardino police officers who shot a robbery suspect believed to be armed in December 2011, were ruled to have acted justifiably by a district attorney’s report on Thursday.
Two years after the shooting of Nicholas Henry Jeter, 23, on Dec. 26, 2011, officers Roberto Retamoza and Jose Vasquez had opened fire on Jeter outside a 7-Eleven convenience market.
The shooting occurred just after Jeter had stolen cigarettes, lighters and beer, according to the report that was released. Dispatchers were told in a 911 emergency call that Jeter had a gun and, possibly, a knife, when he was robbing the convenience store at 207 West Highland Ave. in San Bernardino.
Jeter, who underwent emergency surgery, survived six gunshot wounds in various parts of his body. “Jeter dropped the 18-packs of beer and put his hands to his waist area,” according to the report. “The officers saw what they believed was a handgun in Jeter’s hand and believed Jeter was about to shoot them.” Eight shots were fired, six striking Jeter in the lower abdomen and his right hand. The report concluded that Jeter failed to obey officers’ directions to stop and raise his hands.
Seven months after the incident, Jeter pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, sentenced to two years in prison.
No weapons were discovered at the scene with video surveillance tapes verifying that it was likely that officers and the convenience store clerk had believed Jeter had a weapon.
Said the report: “The (erroneous) observation of a gun in the hand is because of the fact that the suspect had a black sock on each hand.”
Another observation is that the suspect “simulated a handgun with his hand inside the blacks sock at the time of the robbery.”
The report’s conclusion is that officers reacted with deadly force “in the honest and reasonable belief that there was imminent danger that Jeter would kill him or another person, or cause … great bodily injury. Therefore, the use of deadly force was legally justifiable.”
Read More:
San Bernardino Sun: DA finds non-fatal officer-involved shooting legally justified
Press Enterprise: Officers justifiably shot robbery suspect
