Officer cleared in 2015 deadly shooting in Indio
The Riverside County DA’s Office has ruled a deadly shooting involving two Indio police officers justified. The District Attorney’s office released a letter on Thursday determining that Detective Perafan was justified in the shooting.
“In fear for his life, and the life of other officers, Detective Perafan fired through the partially open driver’s door, hitting Villareal. After the first round was fired, Villarreal turned away from Detective Perafan and toward the center consule. Detective Perafan continued to fire until the threat was neutralized. Under the circumstances, Detective Perafan;s decision to use deadly force was reasonable and done in justifiable self defense and defense of others. Therefore criminal liability does not apply, authorities said.
The office recently concluded a review of the Oct. 14, 2015 shooting of Samuel Villareal, 18, of Thousand Palms, who was shot six times by Indio Police Detective Leonardo Perafan in the parking lot of the Christiansen Apartments following an investigation regarding a stolen vehicle and a short pursuit.
A letter from D.A. Mike Hestrin to the Indio Police Department states that after tailing Villareal through the city, Villareal reversed a stolen Lincoln Continental into an IPD SUV. Villareal’s female passenger, identified only as S.U. got out of the car and surrendered, but Villareal did not and “made furtive movements as if reaching for something in the center console
The letter states that Perafan and other officers at the scene ordered Villareal to show them his hands, but that he did not comply, leading to the shooting.Villareal died at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital about half an hour later.
According to the letter, the D.A.’s investigation utilized interviews with the involved officers and S.U., as well as video footage from the apartment complex’s outdoor cameras.However, Villarreal’s family filed a still ongoing federal lawsuit against the city of Indio claiming that officers erased video footage of the incident from the apartment complex’s cameras and from the apartment manager’s cell phone.
The letter claims that video footage seized from the apartment complex shows Villareal leaning towards the center console away from Perafan, who was approaching the driver’s side door.
Consistent with our written policy, the Indio Police Department will be conducting a Use of Force Review Board in the first half of next year. This is designed to examine all the facts surrounding the incident and determine if the officer’s actions were within policy as well as if there are opportunities to improve our procedures.
