WALNUT CREEK — Five officers involved in an incident with a mentally ill man that ended in two of them shooting him to death were identified Friday, but police still have not said which two of them fired the shots.
Police reiterated that they plan to also release the footage from body cameras worn by the officers who responded to 911 calls that a man later identified as 23-year-old Miles Hall was threatening relatives and a neighbor.
Police Chief Thomas Chaplin on Friday said the five officers involved in response were: Officer Tammy Keagy, a 17-year-veteran of the department; Officer Melissa Murphy, in her first year; Sgt. Holley Connors, a 12-year veteran; Officer KC Hsiao, a four-year veteran; and Officer Matt Smith, a six-year veteran.
Chaplin released the information in reply to a public records request by this news agency.
“This is a tragedy, no matter how you slice it,” Chaplin said by phone Friday, a day after putting out a statement that called the fatal shooting “unfortunate” and “an outcome none of us wanted to have.”
“We want to share everything with the community,” he said Friday. “The sooner we can do that, the better it is for everybody in the community. We are all extremely sad about this.”
The department plans to release footage from the body cameras worn by officers at the scene “as soon as we can,” he said.
Two officers shot Hall after responding to Sandra Court around 4:40 p.m. on reports he was threatening his grandmother. More reports came in about five minutes later that he was threatening his mother with an object that appeared to be a crowbar.
The responding officers found Hall carrying that object when they located him on Arlene Lane shortly after arriving. Police say that the officers first tried to stop Hall by shooting non-lethal bean bags at him when he refused to put down the weapon. When he charged at them, the two officers fired guns, police said.
Hall later died at a hospital.
Officers in Walnut Creek also carry a Taser, but police said they did not use one against Hall.
“When you see the video, that answer of why they didn’t use a Taser will become clear,” Chaplin said Friday. “This was much more than a crowbar. This was an iron bar with a sharp end.”
Hall’s family has not commented publicly since the shooting. In social media posts, they’ve indicated that Hall struggled with mental illness and have questioned the officers’ actions. Other posts indicate there will be a vigil for him at Civic Park on Saturday night.
“We take 45,000 calls annually, and we deescalate situations every day,” Chaplin said. “We talk people who are in mental distress down and deescalate potentially volatile situations every day. What’s said about this situation is that the opportunity to deescalate really didn’t present itself.”
Chaplin said an investigation into the shooting by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is expected to conclude next week, at which time the body-camera footage is expected to be released.
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