California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office has determined that police officers in Salinas will not be criminally charged for the fatal shooting of a suspect in July 2022.
Curtis Barnett was shot and killed after police responded to a stabbing on July 13, 2022. Barnett was armed with what looked like a Tommy submachine gun that was later determined to be an airsoft gun and not a firearm.
“The tragic loss of life in this incident profoundly affects the entire state of California,” Bonta said in a statement released by his office Wednesday. “We recognize the considerable challenges and difficulties faced by all those affected, including Mr. Barnett’s family, and the law enforcement agencies involved, and the community at large.”
According to the state Department of Justice’s investigation, officers responded to a report about a stabbing in the 200 block of Crescent Way and as they were heading to the scene, they were informed that the suspect, Barnett, had a firearm.
Police located the stabbing victim at the curb and Barnett emerged from his house, according to the DOJ.
“He was carrying what appeared to be a Tommy submachine gun in his left hand and a sword in his right hand and he began yelling expletives at the officers,” said Bonta’s office.
Officers ordered Barnett to put down the gun, the DOJ said, but he did not comply and instead “walked toward the officers while yelling at the officers when the officers shot him.”
Barnett was shot by officers Eduardo Bejarano, Gabriel Garcia, Alejandro Jimenez and Jordy Urrutia, according to the DOJ report.
After the shooting, police realized Barnett was not holding a real gun.
Despite deeming the shooting warranted, Bonta’s office recommends that the Salinas Police Department change its body-worn camera requirements from “should” activate them during critical incidents to “shall” activate them.
“This will eliminate any potential ambiguity of the requirement that officers activate their body-worn cameras,” Bonta’s office said.
However, some body cam footage was used in the DOJ’s investigation, according to the report on the Barnett shooting. Only officer Jimenez failed to activate his camera.
Bonta also recommended that the department revisit its policy around transitioning from less-lethal to lethal weapon systems when facing a rapidly evolving critical incident.
A request for comment by the Salinas Police Department was not immediately returned.
The California DOJ investigates all officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed suspect after a law passed in 2020 that elevated such shootings from merely being investigated by local law enforcement and county district attorneys.
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