The Antioch Police Department announced Wednesday that the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in their favor in a lawsuit claiming excessive force was used in a June 28, 2012 incident where Denny Gonzales was shot and killed by police.
The lawsuit was filed in 2013 by the wife of Gonzales and his young daughter filed a lawsuit against the City of Antioch for claimed civil rights violations and negligence.
Police say that on Jun 28, 2012, Denny Gonzales lost his life in the City of Antioch in a confrontation with the City of Antioch police. Gonzales, a local barber, who was later found to have been emotionally distraught and significantly intoxicated, was shot and killed when he challenged Antioch Police Department (APD) officers with a firearm in front of his Antioch home.
On that date, Gonzales had made numerous statements to the police that clearly indicated he was homicidal, including comments that he was going to kill a police officer and other threats. APD officers then located Gonzales at his home in Antioch and started the process of gathering police resources, cordoning off the area, surrounding Gonzales’ house and warning nearby residents, to protect officers and the public.
While the APD was putting the necessary resources into place, Gonzales came out onto his driveway voluntarily and unannounced, with a firearm in his right hand and with unknown intentions. When nearby APD officers ordered Gonzales to drop the firearm, Gonzales did not drop the firearm, instead making a movement with his right arm and pointing the firearm at officers while he attempted to move back towards the cover of his garage.
As the lives of the nearby officers were in imminent danger at that point, deadly force was used, killing Gonzales. Video of the incident taken from a fixed wing CHP plane clearly demonstrated that Gonzales pointed his weapon towards officers in this incident.
On Tuesday, after an extensively briefed and argued Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the City to challenge the sufficiency of the allegations against them, Judge Westmore of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled in favor of the City of Antioch on all claims, dismissing this lawsuit. Judge Westmore found that “a reasonable officer at the scene would have reasonably believed that Mr. Gonzales posed a threat of serious physical harm to him or his fellow officers, justifying the use of deadly force.” Pgs. 29-30.
Judge Westmore went on to state that “the undisputed evidence shows that the officers acted reasonably under the totality of the circumstances, and the City, therefore, faces no liability for the officers’ conduct.” Pg. 30. Judge Westmore’s extensive Order is attached.
Lead trial attorney for the City, Noah G. Blechman, Esq., from the McNamara Law Firm in Walnut Creek, praised the ruling by the Court.
“The parties laid out all the relevant evidence for the Court and Judge Westmore made the right decision in this unfortunate case. When an individual with homicidal intentions comes out in public with a firearm and challenges officers, federal and state law permits a police officer to deploy deadly force to protect themselves, as well as to protect the public, from imminent death or serious injury. The Court rightly found that the involved officers of the Antioch Police Department and the tactical supervisors involved acted reasonably and appropriately throughout this incident. Judge Westmore’s ruling is clear vindication for those involved officers who were face to face with a deadly situation and acted in accordance with their extensive training and in conformity with the law.”
The City of Antioch wishes to express their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Denny Gonzales who have suffered from this unfortunate incident. The City of Antioch also wants to praise the actions of those involved officers and supervisors for their efforts which no doubt likely saved the lives the others on June 28, 2012.
Editors Note: Antioch had to Correct ABC7 Story in December 2014
In December of 2014, this is the same case that the City of Antioch had to come out in response to a story by ABC7. Here is what we had posted:
The City of Antioch responded to a recent ABC7 news report by Alan Wang regarding an April 2012 shooting where Antioch Police shot and killed 35-year-old Denny Gonzales.
ABC7 says that there’s no argument that Denny Gonzales was heavily intoxicated when he called a friend and threatened to kill police. What’s being disputed now that police helicopter video has emerged is how it all happened.
ABC7 says they have obtained police video and internal reports that show Gonzales never fired a shot.
According to the ABC7 Story:
Andrea Gonzalez says she was told her husband, an Antioch barber, died at the hands of police because he fired at them first.
“We were getting ready to start our new life with a new baby, new home,” said Danny Gonzales widow Andrea Gonzales. “It still wasn’t sitting inside of me that this was true, and I just needed answers.”
She hired an attorney who obtained police helicopter video of Danny Gonzales walking out of his home holding a handgun. He was already surrounded by Antioch SWAT officers. It’s not clear what startled him, but police believed he fired first. They returned fire with nearly 60 rounds that killed Danny Gonzales. He was shot in the back twice.
“One of the officers was overly excited and fired a shot as soon as he came out and that led other officers to believe shots were fired and it was just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,” said Rob Cartwright, the plaintiff’s attorney.
Attorneys for Gonzales’ widow say a video proves he never fired a shot. A forensic analysis found that his gun was still on safety.
The City of Antioch issued a response today disputing the ABC7 story and video which goes against the DA’s investigation and Coroners Inquest. Antioch highlights that Gonzales had a 0.24 blood alcohol level and carried a loaded firearm towards police when he was making threats to harm officers.
Here is a look at the response:
December 22, 2014 – Gonzales v. City of Antioch (U.S. District Court, Case No. C14-04728 KAW)
ANTIOCH, Calif. – Attorneys for the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit against the City of Antioch have attempted to persuade news reporters that a 2012 police shooting of an armed man was unjustified. This interpretation goes against the findings of the District Attorney’s investigation and the civilian jury at the Coroner’s Inquest.
Each of these inquiries arrived at the same conclusions. On June 28, 2012, Antioch resident Denny Gonzalez was agitated and inebriated (.24 blood alcohol level), and announced his intention to murder a police officer. When officers located Gonzalez, he advanced toward them, armed with a loaded handgun.
How officers handle armed subjects intent on killing them is a very serious one, and one that will be examined when this lawsuit comes to trial. We are confident that the litigation process will reach the same conclusion as the civilian jury reached in 2013 – police officers shot an armed subject who appeared determined to trigger a violent confrontation.
2 comments
I actually knew this barber and he was a really nice and happy guy. But having homicidal thoughts, and even admitting that you want to harm a police officer will not help your situation. Anytime a police officer’s life is in imminent danger they are advised to use deadly force. I am glad that the judge did favor with the police officers discretion to use deadly force as any other law enforcement officer in the same situation would do the same.
This was an unfortunate situation. Dennys actions led to the outcome that many have to live with. The family was probably provided misinformation of what was believed to be true at the time. Hopefully all involved can move on.
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