Palm Springs police officer involved in deadly bail agent shooting will not be charged
A Palm Springs police officer involved in a deadly shooting by an unlicensed bail agent will not face criminal charges, the District Attorney announced.
David Spann, 33, was killed in his Palm Springs home in April 2021. He was allegedly shot by Fabian Herrera, who police said was posing as a bounty hunter. Herrera was not a licensed bail agent and wasn't allowed to have a gun. He was hired by a bail agency to apprehend Spann for violating his bail agreement.
Bodycam video of the shooting shows Spann armed with a knife. He was tased, but doesn't go down. Moments later, a Palm Springs police officer is heard ordering Herrera to "shoot."
No Palm Springs police officers fired their weapons.
PSPD officer Rhett Arden was present during the shooting and used a tased on the suspect.
The incident has been under review by the Riverside County District Attorney's office. On Tuesday, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said his office "concluded that there is no evidence of criminal liability on the officer's part."
Criminal cases against Herrera and his mother, Lisa Vargas, who accompanied him that night, continue. Both were charged with murder. They both face potential life sentences if convicted.
The duo is scheduled to appear in court in September.
Spann's family filed a lawsuit against the city of Palm Springs, its police department, and several others. Rhett is named in the lawsuit, as is the other officer who responded to Herrera's calls for backup. Former Palm Springs police chief Bryan Reyes is also listed in the lawsuit.
An attorney for the city of Palm Springs said the lawsuit is "misdirected," and added criminal cases against Herrera and Vargas remain ongoing.
Spann's father, William Spann, told The Desert Sun, which first reported the lawsuit, "The police department had no policy in place on how to deal with bounty hunters... They used force as soon as they got there and it quickly became deadly force. They should have prevented my son from being killed instead of helping kill him."
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates on this case.
