For release on April 6, 2016 CONTACT:
Christopher Lamiero, Deputy District Attorney
(408) 792-1062 DA REPORT: SUNNYVALE OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED ARMED GANG MEMBER A Sunnyvale law enforcement officer last year lawfully shot and killed a San Diego gang member who, when cornered during a foot pursuit, pointed a loaded handgun at him.
Allen Baker, 23, had an active arrest warrant from San Diego and had sworn to his acquaintances that he would shoot it out with police rather than go back to jail.
Prosecutor Christopher Lamiero concluded in his 24-page public report: “The situation Baker created carried such an imminent threat of death or bodily injury to Officer (Bryan) Smart and his fellow officers that the only reasonable action available to Officer Smart was to fire his own weapon at Baker.” 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.
The incident began the afternoon of August 15, 2015 at a Sunnyvale Motel 6. Police responded to a 911 call that there was possible prostitution activity at the motel. Two women, one who looked like a minor, had checked into a room and at least one man was in a running Jaguar with tinted windows parked nearby. When police asked the driver to come out, two others fled from the vehicle. One was Shawn Brown, wanted for murder in Fresno. The other was Baker, a member of the “Young Lynch Mob Gang” in San Diego.
Sunnyvale Officer Smart, an 18-year veteran driving a department SUV, followed Baker. Another officer chased on foot and tried unsuccessfully to stop Baker with a Taser. Baker – who was wearing a backpack and dropped a loaded gun magazine during the chase - ended up running into some bushes that were growing next to a fence. Trapped, he pointed a weapon at his own chest and threatened to kill himself. Ignoring the officer’s command to drop the gun, Baker aimed it at the officer. In response, Smart fired between 5 and 7 shots, killing Baker.
Baker’s semi-automatic gun was recovered at the scene, loaded with ammunition. Baker’s backpack held another loaded gun along with ammunition. An investigation showed that Baker was a documented gang member on the lam after failing to appear in court for his armed robbery sentence. Having failed to appear, Baker was facing an automatic sentence of 16 years in state prison. Baker had told the other occupants of the car that he would shoot it out with police if pulled over and said, “I ain’t got nothing to lose.”
The driver of the car was arrested at the scene. Brown was later arrested in Las Vegas. # # #
Christopher Lamiero, Deputy District Attorney
(408) 792-1062 DA REPORT: SUNNYVALE OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED ARMED GANG MEMBER A Sunnyvale law enforcement officer last year lawfully shot and killed a San Diego gang member who, when cornered during a foot pursuit, pointed a loaded handgun at him.
Allen Baker, 23, had an active arrest warrant from San Diego and had sworn to his acquaintances that he would shoot it out with police rather than go back to jail.
Prosecutor Christopher Lamiero concluded in his 24-page public report: “The situation Baker created carried such an imminent threat of death or bodily injury to Officer (Bryan) Smart and his fellow officers that the only reasonable action available to Officer Smart was to fire his own weapon at Baker.” 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.
The incident began the afternoon of August 15, 2015 at a Sunnyvale Motel 6. Police responded to a 911 call that there was possible prostitution activity at the motel. Two women, one who looked like a minor, had checked into a room and at least one man was in a running Jaguar with tinted windows parked nearby. When police asked the driver to come out, two others fled from the vehicle. One was Shawn Brown, wanted for murder in Fresno. The other was Baker, a member of the “Young Lynch Mob Gang” in San Diego.
Sunnyvale Officer Smart, an 18-year veteran driving a department SUV, followed Baker. Another officer chased on foot and tried unsuccessfully to stop Baker with a Taser. Baker – who was wearing a backpack and dropped a loaded gun magazine during the chase - ended up running into some bushes that were growing next to a fence. Trapped, he pointed a weapon at his own chest and threatened to kill himself. Ignoring the officer’s command to drop the gun, Baker aimed it at the officer. In response, Smart fired between 5 and 7 shots, killing Baker.
Baker’s semi-automatic gun was recovered at the scene, loaded with ammunition. Baker’s backpack held another loaded gun along with ammunition. An investigation showed that Baker was a documented gang member on the lam after failing to appear in court for his armed robbery sentence. Having failed to appear, Baker was facing an automatic sentence of 16 years in state prison. Baker had told the other occupants of the car that he would shoot it out with police if pulled over and said, “I ain’t got nothing to lose.”
The driver of the car was arrested at the scene. Brown was later arrested in Las Vegas. # # #