DA determines deadly officer-involved shooting in Palm Springs was justified
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has determined that an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Palm Springs on November 4 of last year was justified.
Read: Sheriff’s Department ID’s suspect shot and killed by Police on Friday
At the time of the shooting, officers said the suspect Abraham Ortiz was reportedly acting erratic, and was shot by a Palm Springs police officer.
Read: Family of man shot to death by PSPD officer files claim against the city
According to John Hall, Spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, “This OIS has been staffed and we determined there was no criminal culpability on the part of the involved officer.”
The sheriff’s department turned the case over to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office
When KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 first reported on the deadly shooting, the Palm Springs Police Department had received multiple 911 calls that afternoon about a man exposing himself, urinating, and yelling racial and homophobic slurs. The suspect was also said to possibly have a weapon at the time.
Police arrived on scene at approximately 1 p.m. that day at the Rite Aid parking lot on the 400 block of South Palm Canyon Drive. That’s where police came into contact with Ortiz.
“Two officers made contact with the subject, two uniformed officers. there was a struggle that went to the ground that resulted to an officer involved shooting,” Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes said.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Ortiz became combative when officers approached him. The suspect then began to struggle, leading one officer to shoot.
One eyewitness told us what he saw. “You know the cops contacted the guy, the guy lunged for the cops and reached toward his waistband and that’s where it really escalated,” witness Cody White said.
With the recent murders of two PSPD officers fresh on the mind of officers, we asked Chief Reyes if that impacted how officers responded to the call.
“People are calling 911, this is flat out emergency, calls from multiple people indicating someone was armed and acting erratic, we don’t step on the break, we step on the gas pedal to get there,” Reyes said.
The officer involved in the shooting was treated for minor injuries and was placed on administrative leave following the shooting. KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 are working to get more details about the officer involved in the shooting.
We’ll deliver updates when we hear back from authorities.
Crime Headlines across the Coachella Valley Watch us online Check out your First Alert Weather Forecast
