State Atty. Gen. to Continue Probe Into Police Shooting

The state attorney general’s office will continue its investigation into the 1998 police shooting of an unarmed Santa Ana man, even though federal authorities have decided not to prosecute the officer at the center of the case.

On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Officer James F. Tavenner, a 10-year veteran who fatally shot Jose Manuel Campos during a confrontation in west Santa Ana.

State authorities said they are probing the decision by the Orange County district attorney’s office not to prosecute Tavenner. The investigation, started last year, was prompted by community groups who complained that the local probe was deficient.

The incident occurred on a residential street when Tavenner confronted Campos, 28, after spotting him in a parked car that had been reported stolen. Tavenner has said he fired one shot into the car because Campos started driving away and he feared being run over.

But several witnesses have said that Campos posed no threat and that the officer provoked Campos before firing a bullet into his ear at point-blank range.

Tavenner was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Orange County Grand Jury and the district attorney’s office.