DA's office moves to drop fatal police shooting case
At least two use-of-force experts have opined that Jason Fletcher's "conduct was not criminal," the DA's office said.
The Alameda County DA's office has asked a judge to dismiss the case against former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher, who fatally shot Steven Taylor in a San Leandro Walmart in 2020 during a call for service.
In court papers filed Tuesday, the DA's office said Fletcher had "no reasonable alternative" but to fire his gun because Taylor was armed, refused to comply with orders and "was tased twice without appreciable effect."
Two use-of-force experts have since opined that Fletcher's "conduct was not criminal and amounted to a lawful exercise of self-defense and/or defense of the others," the DA's office wrote. "Justice demands the dismissal of the instant matter."
Fletcher is facing a single count of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the April 18, 2020, shooting.
The case is set to come before Judge Clifford Blakely on Friday.
On Wednesday, Taylor's family held a press conference at the courthouse, along with supporters from the Anti Police-Terror Project, to decry the DA's decision to drop the case.
In a letter to the court, Taylor's grandmother Addie Kitchen asked Judge Blakely to deny the motion and allow the case to go before a jury next year.
Kitchen said she had just learned Tuesday about the DA's plans despite repeated requests for information in recent weeks.
"There was no meaningful chance to prepare a written opposition, no prior notice of the legal basis, and no opportunity to understand or respond before dismissal was sought," she wrote.
In her letter, Kitchen asked the judge to allow her to be heard before any decision is made.
Kitchen and her supporters have also raised questions about why Blakely will hear the motion when a different judge (who is currently on vacation) has overseen developments in the case to date.
The controversial case has repeatedly been in the headlines since it was filed under DA Nancy O'Malley in 2020 in the months after George Floyd was killed.
Recalled DA Pamela Price campaigned on the case and ultimately saw her office recused from it as a result of her conduct.
With Price now pledging to run for the DA's seat again, the case, and how it's handled, is likely to continue to draw community scrutiny.
Stay tuned for updates.
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Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
