TEHACHAPI 鈥� Three men in dark suits knocked on Pam Holland鈥檚 door one night last June. They told her that her son was dead, shot to death in a neighboring county by a sheriff鈥檚 deputy. The shooting, they said, was being investigated under a new California law that requires the state Justice Department step in when a police officer kills an unarmed person.
Pam Holland hoped the investigation would be quick and fair. Her father had been a Kern County Sheriff鈥檚 reserve deputy. She grew up around cops. She thought she could trust them 鈥� but she also believed that police agencies protect their own.
鈥淚 was like, wow, that鈥檚 awesome, this is great, they鈥檙e going to take it out of the hands of the local cops, who would instantly feel anger toward my son without even knowing anything,鈥� she said.
But an investigation that the Justice Department officers told Holland would take eight months is quickly approaching 12. Now, she is among several Californians and just want the state investigations to end.
The Justice Department opened the program in 2021 to carry out a law enforcement accountability law that gained traction after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-authored the law when he was in the Legislature, pledged that the investigations under the law created by Assembly Bill 1506 would be completed within a year. But some police shooting reviews have already stretched 18 months or more.
The is from August 2021, more than 21 months ago.
While the investigations proceed, the families and their legal teams have as much or as little information as the rest of the public and they cannot push forward with lawsuits against the policing agencies.
鈥淚 am at the point where I believe families have to pay a visit to Bonta in Sacramento,鈥� said Jonathan Hernandez, a Santa Ana city council member whose cousin was shot to death in September 2021. 鈥淎ll of us, every family who鈥檚 waiting for 1506 investigations, if he doesn鈥檛 give us a response, we will give him a response.鈥�
Bonta, the elected head of the Justice Department, refused to answer questions about delays in the investigations. His office responded to questions with an unsigned email.
鈥淚 feel for the families having to patiently wait, but rest assured, independent investigations for civilian deaths by law enforcement is vital in demanding more transparency and accountability.鈥�ASSEMBLYMEMBER KEVIN MCCARTY, DEMOCRAT FROM SACRAMENTO
The length of the Justice Department investigations leads to other impacts: District attorneys cannot develop police shooting cases to decide whether criminal charges against the officer or officers are merited until the Justice Department鈥檚 review is over.
In Holland鈥檚 case in San Bernardino County, the sheriff鈥檚 office said it could not issue a final verdict on its officer鈥檚 conduct while the state review is underway 鈥� an interpretation of the law that the Justice Department denied in a written statement to CalMatters.
The department 鈥渉as no policy prohibiting a local law enforcement agency from completing its administrative investigation while our investigation is proceeding,鈥� unnamed representatives for the Justice Department wrote.
In the meantime, the deputy who shot Holland is back on patrol duty.
Bonta鈥檚 predecessor, fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra, initially opposed the bill that led to the state鈥檚 role in police shooting reviews. Becerra argued at the time it would be too costly for the Justice Department, which is under the attorney general, to take on a responsibility that normally fell to local district attorneys.
One issue is money. The Justice Department asked for $26 million to pay for the new shooting investigation teams. The Legislature allotted half of that, about $13 million.
Becerra complained about that discrepancy to the bill鈥檚 author, Democratic Assemblymember Kevin McCarty of Sacramento.
The $13 million budget allocation 鈥渋s significantly lower than our estimates and not enough resources to stand up professional teams to perform these new investigative and prosecutorial duties,鈥� Becerra wrote to McCarty in January 2021. 鈥淎s a result, the (Justice Department) will have limited capacity to implement this bill, short of redirecting resources from other essential, mandated work, which could compromise those operations.鈥�
Now, the length of the state investigations is 鈥渓onger than average鈥� for police shooting cases, said California District Attorneys Association CEO Greg Totten, a former Ventura County prosecutor. He added that every case is different.
Prosecutors 鈥渢ry to move the cases as quickly as we can, but they鈥檙e not always straightforward,鈥� Totten said.
Bonta鈥檚 office in the unsigned statement acknowledged the slower-than-expected pace of the investigations.
鈥淎s you know, the California Department of Justice requested more funding than we ultimately received to carry out our AB 1506 work, and we鈥檝e had to adapt and make it work,鈥� the statement read.
鈥淭his does sometimes mean that investigations may take longer to complete than they would with additional funding and resources, but we owe it to the families involved as well as our communities to ensure that each case is done right, and supported by a thorough, fair, and comprehensive investigation.鈥�
McCarty said in a statement last week that the slow pace of investigations is a result of thorough work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been slow to roll out and implement, but I still have confidence in the program 鈥� as it鈥檚 better to be right than to be fast,鈥� McCarty said in a statement emailed to CalMatters.
鈥淚 feel for the families having to patiently wait, but rest assured, independent investigations for civilian deaths by law enforcement is vital in demanding more transparency and accountability.鈥�
Pam Holland鈥檚 son, Shane, was an intravenous drug user with a litany of arrests and jail sentences. He had outstanding warrants and he ran from the police. She knows how all this looks. But she hoped the state, with its $13 million annual budget for police shooting investigations, would at least provide a dispassionate, thorough resolution.
Now?
鈥淚 wish they would have never gotten involved.鈥�
A shooting on a desert highway
On a dark street in a San Bernardino County exurb, Shane Earl Holland gave a fake name to a sheriff鈥檚 deputy and ran.
Holland, 35, was a passenger in a car pulled over by San Bernardino County Sheriff鈥檚 deputy Justin Lopez about 2:30 a.m. one day last June. Holland had outstanding warrants. Lopez yelled at him to stop running and get on the ground. Holland replied several times, 鈥淚鈥檒l shoot you.鈥�
Lopez, according to audio from his tape recorder obtained by CalMatters, chased Holland on foot for one minute and 17 seconds, then fired six shots, killing him. Moments later, Lopez鈥檚 sergeant arrived at the scene.
鈥淵ou good?,鈥� asked the sergeant, whose name has not been released by the sheriff鈥檚 department.
鈥淚鈥檓 good,鈥� Lopez said, still breathing hard from the chase.
鈥淲here鈥檚 his gun,鈥� the sergeant replied. 鈥淒id he have a gun?鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淗e said he was going to shoot.鈥�
Pam Holland first heard that recording in January 鈥� a recording her daughter obtained from the Justice Department with a public records request.
鈥淗onestly, like if there was no audio recordings, if I didn鈥檛 hear the audio recording, I would not believe the story,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I didn鈥檛 hear it for my own self and they told me, well, you know, he said he was going to shoot, I wouldn鈥檛 believe it.鈥�
On the recording, Lopez and his sergeant briefly discuss the injuries to Shane Holland鈥檚 body, mentioning that they can see his skull. She wants to know if he suffered.
Holland鈥檚 family has been assigned an advocate, who works for the Justice Department. Holland and two of her daughters sometimes do an imitation of the advocate鈥檚 frustrating responses to their questions: 鈥溾�業鈥檓 sorry, we can鈥檛 tell you that,鈥� 鈥� they mimicked in chorus during an interview at Holland鈥檚 Tehapachi apartment.
鈥淗e killed my kid. But he鈥檚 running in the dark, chasing someone who says, I鈥檓 going to shoot you. That鈥檚 not okay.鈥�PAM HOLLAND, MOTHER OF SHANE EARL HOLLAND
Holland has questions about the night of the shooting. Why did the deputy chase the car鈥檚 passenger, leaving the driver to his own devices? Were her son鈥檚 pants falling off like they usually were? Did he have his hand at his waistband to hold them up as he ran? Did it look like he was reaching for a gun?
鈥淚 waver between thinking the cop needs to suffer, go to prison himself, to feeling bad for him,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd that makes me wonder what the hell鈥檚 wrong with me. He killed my kid. But he鈥檚 running in the dark, chasing someone who says, I鈥檓 going to shoot you. That鈥檚 not okay.鈥�
When should police chase on foot?
Ed Obayashi, a former Plumas County Sheriff鈥檚 deputy who is now a nationally recognized expert in police use-of-force cases, also has questions about the shooting. CalMatters shared the tape recording of the shooting with him.
He broke the deputy鈥檚 decision-making into two parts: Why chase Holland, and why fire shots?
鈥淥fficers, it鈥檚 embedded in their DNA to chase,鈥� Obayashi said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e cops.鈥�
But state and federal courts have held that simple fleeing is not a reason for a police officer to detain a person, said Obayashi, who also has a law degree.
Lopez, the deputy, told the driver that he had a reflective coating on his license plate, making it hard to read. Obayashi said he doesn鈥檛 understand what threat Holland posed to the officer when he fled.
鈥淎 physical threat, that hardly exists here because he鈥檚 running away,鈥� Obayashi said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 inherently dangerous to be chasing anyone during the day, much less at night.鈥�
鈥淭here is a skill associated with investigating not only officer-involved shootings, but just shootings in general, that the Attorney General鈥檚 office doesn鈥檛 have.鈥�BRIAN MARVEL, PRESIDENT OF THE PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA
The San Bernardino County Sheriff鈥檚 Department has a policy for vehicle pursuits, but not pursuits on foot. In emailed responses to CalMatters鈥� questions, department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez said the department relies on guidance from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST.
The POST guidelines 鈥� which are merely suggestions and not mandatory 鈥� call foot pursuits 鈥渙ne of the most dangerous and unpredictable situations for officers.鈥� They say an officer should have observed criminal activity before starting a chase.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see the legal justification for this shooting,鈥� Obayashi said. 鈥淔leeing alone is not a good reason to chase. Matter of fact, that鈥檚 no reason at all.鈥�
But when Holland threatened Lopez, Obayashi said, his fate was sealed.
鈥淚鈥檓 not taking that chance, if he鈥檚 saying he鈥檚 going to shoot,鈥� Obayashi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy for someone to pull out a gun and spray bullets behind them. The individual made a distinct threat and the deputy鈥檚 thinking, oh shit, this guy is going for a gun.鈥�
For the deputy, the ramifications of using deadly force will be compounded by investigations by the San Bernardino County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, the local district attorney鈥檚 office and the Justice Department, said Brian Marvel, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
鈥淭hat adds up to a lot,鈥� Marvel said. 鈥淗aving to wait long periods of time and going through that is, it鈥檚 pretty rough. I think anybody under any circumstances having to wait those types of time frames, (it) takes a toll on your psyche, it takes a toll on your health and it鈥檚 difficult to get through.鈥�
Marvel said it鈥檚 not surprising that the Justice Department investigations are taking a long time 鈥� the people doing the investigations are still learning to conduct them at this level.
鈥淚 think what you鈥檙e dealing with now is, you have an Attorney General鈥檚 office that has never done this before,鈥� Marvel said. 鈥淪o, in essence, you鈥檙e having to train up special agents to do officer-involved shootings. There is a skill associated with investigating not only officer-involved shootings, but just shootings in general, that the Attorney General鈥檚 office doesn鈥檛 have.鈥�
Councilmember watched his cousin鈥檚 death
Another family who lost faith waiting for the Justice Department鈥檚 investigation has long roots in Orange County. Hernandez, the Santa Ana city councilmember, watched from behind a police barricade as officers shot his cousin, Brandon Lopez, 22 times after a police chase in Anaheim on Sept. 28, 2021.
Lopez, 33, had three outstanding warrants and was driving a stolen car that crashed at a construction site. During an hours-long standoff, police shouted commands to him, telling him to surrender. In a video presentation of dispatcher audio and body camera footage prepared by the Anaheim Police Department, police said Lopez was 鈥渟moking narcotics鈥� inside the car and refused to leave.
Santa Ana police handed over the standoff to the Anaheim Police Department. Soon after, Anaheim Police officers fired a flashbang grenade and tear gas canister into the car. Lopez emerged from the car鈥檚 backseat moments later.
The officers called out that Lopez had a gun. Police fired multiple rounds, and Lopez is shown in the video falling to the ground. He died at the scene. He was unarmed.
鈥淲hat they called a standoff was a public execution of an unarmed man,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淭he days of lynching have gone away and have evolved into the modern day police shooting.鈥�
Hernandez ran in 2020 against an incumbent former Orange County Sheriff鈥檚 deputy on a police reform platform. He won by 9 percentage points.
At the scene before the shooting, shows the councilmember in a T-shirt and shorts, asking to speak with his cousin and telling an officer he鈥檚 worried because 鈥渃ops kill people every day.鈥�
The officer responds: 鈥淧eople kill people every day.鈥�
鈥淎bsolutely,鈥� Hernandez said, 鈥渂ut you鈥檒l get away with it.鈥�
CalMatters requested raw footage, interviews and relevant documents associated with the Lopez shooting from the Anaheim Police Department in September. The department denied the request, citing the ongoing investigation.
When the Justice Department took control of the investigation, Hernandez said he was hopeful it would avoid the local politics of Santa Ana and Orange County. Unlike Holland鈥檚 family, Hernandez said his relatives do not think well of the police. He and Lopez鈥檚 mother, Johanna, told CalMatters they refused to speak with the local cops after the shooting.
鈥淵ou cannot trust the people who just murdered your loved one to properly investigate each other,鈥� Hernandez said.
Now, because of the delay, he wonders whether he and his family can trust the Justice Department.
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