Long Beach police officers won’t be charged in fatal 2014 shooting of man fleeing down stairs

Two Long Beach police officers who shot and killed a fleeing suspect in a 2014 incident that was captured on video will not face criminal charges, prosecutors announced this week.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office determined there was “insufficient evidence” to prove Officers Eric Barich and Salvadore Alatorre used unreasonable force when they opened fire on Jason Conoscenti as he ran down an outdoor staircase after a lengthy police pursuit that started in Compton, according to a memo issued by prosecutors.

The shooting drew outrage after a cellphone video surfaced that appeared to show Conoscenti being shot as he ran away toward the beach with a police dog nipping at his heels. He did not appear to be armed.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: Police fire on suspect in Long Beach

But though the footage appeared to show Conoscenti being shot from behind, the district attorney’s report said Barich and Alatorre were actually standing on the beach and opened fire when they saw the 36-year-old running toward them and possibly reaching for a weapon. Conoscenti was shot seven times in the chest, leg and hip, according to the memo.

Conoscenti, 36, was initially confronted by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after he was accused of stealing several items from a Target store in Compton. After deputies attempted to arrest him, Conoscenti threatened them with a pair of scissors and fled in a white Isuzu Rodeo, according to the memo.

The pursuit spanned 12 miles, ending when Conoscenti stopped his vehicle on 14^th Place and Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. Officers and sheriff’s deputies both ordered Conoscenti to surrender, but he ignored them and remained in his vehicle for 25 minutes. Police dogs were ordered to the scene and police began discussing less-lethal force options to capture Conoscenti, according to the memo.

After the lengthy standoff, Conoscenti got out of the vehicle with a wooden stick and fled down a staircase toward the beach. Sheriff’s deputies fired four less-lethal rounds at him, and Long Beach police sent their dog after him, according to the memo. The district attorney’s memo did not say what kind of less-lethal rounds were fired.

Barich and Alatorre were standing on the beach that Conoscenti was running toward. Both officers said Conoscenti was moving his hands near his waistband and appeared to be reaching for a weapon.

Alatorre and Barich declined to comment through a Long Beach police spokesman. Steve James, president of the Long Beach Police Officers Assn., said the district attorney’s findings highlight a common problem with video. Cellphone footage, while sometimes helpful in exposing unjust uses of force, doesn’t always provide a complete portrait of a shooting, he said.

“But I don’t see anyone feeling vindicated,” James said. “Somebody lost their life.”

The already tense situation appeared to be heightened by the spread of inaccurate information between police agencies, according to the district attorney’s memo. Sheriff’s deputies told Long Beach police officers on the scene that Conoscenti had attacked them with a deadly weapon, even though he had brandished only a pair of scissors outside the Target store, according to the memo.

The sound of deputies firing less-lethal rounds at Conoscenti also led Barich and Alatorre to believe the suspect was actually engaged in a gun battle with police shortly before they confronted him, according to the memo.

Conoscenti did not have a firearm. A toxicology test showed he had methamphetamine in his system on the day of the shooting.

Both officers remain on patrol, according to Long Beach police. It was not clear if either officer faced discipline, and the results of officer discipline hearings are rarely made public in California. It was also unclear if the department faulted the tactics of either officer on the day of the shooting, as the Long Beach Police Department routinely refuses to discuss the findings of its shooting review board.

Last month, the Long Beach City Council approved a $2-million payout to settle a lawsuit brought by Conoscenti’s survivors.

Dale Galipo, the attorney representing Conoscenti’s family, expressed frustration with the district attorney’s decision and wondered aloud if the agency was capable of scrutinizing police use-of-force.

“I wasn’t expecting a criminal prosecution, but I guess the question becomes, ‘Is any officer ever going to be prosecuted for any shooting case?’” he asked. “I will tell you this. In this case and many others, if any non-police officer had shot and killed a person under the same circumstances, they’d be prosecuted for murder.”

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UPDATES:

6:05 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from an attorney representing the Conoscenti family.

5:30 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from the president of Long Beach’s police union. It was also updated to correct spelling of officer Alatorre’s name.

This story first published at 12:35 p.m.