For release on September 1, 2016 CONTACT:
Steven Dal Porto, Deputy District Attorney
(408) 792-2478 DA REPORT: GILROY OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED CHARGING DV SUSPECT A Gilroy police officer investigating an ongoing domestic violence incident late last year lawfully shot and killed the suspect who was charging at him, the District Attorney’s Office has determined. That night a neighbor called police to report that Hector Alvarez, 19, was beating a woman in front of her children. When he saw the officer, Alvarez, who turned out to be a validated gang member, refused to comply with commands, twice reached into his waistband, and ran at the retreating officer. After he was killed, it was determined that Alvarez was unarmed. Prosecutor Steve Dal Porto concluded in the 32-page report that “Officer Moon was confronted by a man who not only failed repeatedly to yield to the lawful orders of police, but escalated the situation by making furtive gestures into his waistband and charging at the officer. Officer Moon was left with no other reasonable option, under the totality of the circumstances, but to fire his weapon at Alvarez until Alvarez was no longer a threat to him.” The District Attorney’s Office investigates all fatal law enforcement encounters to determine if the lethal force was legal. By law, officers are allowed to use deadly force when they or others are faced with imminent danger. Around 7 p.m. on December 14, 2015, Officer Moon arrived at an apartment complex on Filbro Drive, responding to a dispatch report that said that a possible Norteno gang member was in the process of beating a woman. The reporting party told the officer that the beating was still happening. Hearing the fight himself, Moon decided to wait for backup at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the apartment. Alvarez came down the stairs at the officer. When Alvarez charged, Moon fired – striking Alvarez three times. An investigation and witness accounts corroborated the officer’s account. The domestic violence victim told police several contradictory stories implying that she saw the shooting and Alvarez was complying when he was shot. Her accounts were discounted by the investigation. She had previously refused to testify against Alvarez for stabbing her in the hand with a screwdriver. At the time of his death, Alvarez was facing felony domestic violence charges from a month earlier in which he was accused of injuring the same victim. A no-contact restraining order was in place. # # #
Steven Dal Porto, Deputy District Attorney
(408) 792-2478 DA REPORT: GILROY OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED CHARGING DV SUSPECT A Gilroy police officer investigating an ongoing domestic violence incident late last year lawfully shot and killed the suspect who was charging at him, the District Attorney’s Office has determined. That night a neighbor called police to report that Hector Alvarez, 19, was beating a woman in front of her children. When he saw the officer, Alvarez, who turned out to be a validated gang member, refused to comply with commands, twice reached into his waistband, and ran at the retreating officer. After he was killed, it was determined that Alvarez was unarmed. Prosecutor Steve Dal Porto concluded in the 32-page report that “Officer Moon was confronted by a man who not only failed repeatedly to yield to the lawful orders of police, but escalated the situation by making furtive gestures into his waistband and charging at the officer. Officer Moon was left with no other reasonable option, under the totality of the circumstances, but to fire his weapon at Alvarez until Alvarez was no longer a threat to him.” The District Attorney’s Office investigates all fatal law enforcement encounters to determine if the lethal force was legal. By law, officers are allowed to use deadly force when they or others are faced with imminent danger. Around 7 p.m. on December 14, 2015, Officer Moon arrived at an apartment complex on Filbro Drive, responding to a dispatch report that said that a possible Norteno gang member was in the process of beating a woman. The reporting party told the officer that the beating was still happening. Hearing the fight himself, Moon decided to wait for backup at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the apartment. Alvarez came down the stairs at the officer. When Alvarez charged, Moon fired – striking Alvarez three times. An investigation and witness accounts corroborated the officer’s account. The domestic violence victim told police several contradictory stories implying that she saw the shooting and Alvarez was complying when he was shot. Her accounts were discounted by the investigation. She had previously refused to testify against Alvarez for stabbing her in the hand with a screwdriver. At the time of his death, Alvarez was facing felony domestic violence charges from a month earlier in which he was accused of injuring the same victim. A no-contact restraining order was in place. # # #