Officer hospitalized since 2016, from jail shooting, dies

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A central California corrections officer who had been hospitalized after a 2016 shooting in the lobby of Fresno County’s main jail succumbed to his injuries and died Tuesday.

Toamalama Scanlan, 46, died at Kindred Hospital in Paramount in Los Angeles County. He is survived by his wife and six children.

Scanlan was responding to a call for help from a fellow officer when he was seriously injured Sept. 3 by gunman Thong Vang of Fresno. Fresno County Sheriff’s correctional officer Juanita Davila was also injured but survived.

At trial, Vang testified that he was high on methamphetamine, paranoid and looking for help when he went into the jail lobby that day, The Fresno Bee reported. In March 2018, Vang was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 112 years to life in prison.

Eulalio Gomez, who was president of the Fresno County Public Safety Association at the time and now retired, called Scanlan brave and selfless. “He brought a taser to a gunfight. That’s all he had at the time to help,” he said.

A former college football player, Scanlan was known for his Samoan chants and upbeat attitude.