Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley will not file charges against the three California Highway Patrol officers who shot and killed an unarmed Oakland driver two years ago.
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O'Malley announced the decision in a report, dated on March 28 but released on Monday, writing to California Highway Patrol Chief Chris Costigan that she agreed with the report’s conclusion that "the evidence does not justify criminal charges against any law enforcement agency."
The family of Erik Salgado, the 23-year-old whom three officers shot and killed on June 6, 2020 after he was pulled over on 96th Avenue and Cherry Street in East Oakland, blasted the decision, calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to open his own investigation.
Felina Ramirez, Salgado's mother, said on Monday in a statement through a translator that it took O’Malley two years to say it was OK for officers "to shoot 16 rifle bullets into my son for a stolen car."
"Erik was just 23 years old," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "His daughter Liliana has to grow up without a father. Where is the justice?"
The three CHP officers who shot Salgado, Sgt. Richard Henderson and officers Eric Hulbert and Donald Saputa, have argued they feared Salgado was going to run them over with his vehicle, a stolen red Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. As a result, they fired at least 25 bullets into the car, 16 of which hit Salgado torso, killing him instantly.
Brianna Colombo, Salgado's girlfriend and the only non-police witness to the shooting, sustained bullet wounds to the stomach, leg and arm.
In the 34-page report released on Monday, O'Malley admitted that questions "still remain" from the shooting. The report, however, was "unable to refute" the police narrative.
O’Malley said that if more witnesses come forward, the investigation could be reopened.
Amanda Majail-Blanco, Salgado's sister, said she wants the officers "indicted and charged with murder."
"There's videos that I know were confiscated that night," she told KCBS Radio on Tuesday. "The police have been down there even after they murdered Erik, then they confiscated 3 video cameras that we have not seen and don't know where they are."
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