Modesto police identify man fatally shot at Beyer Park by Ceres police officer

Modesto police are investigating a fatal shooting involving an off-duty Ceres police officer and an aspiring cop who pointed a BB gun at him Sunday night.

The shooting occurred about 10:21 p.m. at Beyer Park, near Beyer High School on Sylvan Avenue in north Modesto, according to Modesto police spokeswoman Heather Graves.

When Modesto police officers arrived, they found off-duty Ceres police Officer Thomas Miller giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation to 29-year-old Jason Moland, who had been shot.

The preliminary investigation indicated the officer and a woman were at the park when Moland approached them.

A confrontation between the men ensued, during which Moland pointed a BB gun at Miller. The officer then fired his gun, striking Moland. Moland was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Graves would not say what the men were arguing about or what the relationship of either man was to the woman but said it is something detectives are considering as part of their investigation.

Both of the men are married and have children, according to neighbors and public records.

No one answered at either man’s Modesto home Monday when a Bee reporter knocked on the door, nor were phone calls returned by family.

Miller, who has one year of service with the Ceres Police Department, will be placed on standard paid administrative leave after his regular days off, Graves said.

The Ceres Police Department declined to comment about the shooting, deferring to Modesto police.

Shortly after beginning his career with the Ceres department, Miller was injured while fighting with a parolee who had led him and another officer on a high-speed pursuit, according to an October 2014 story in the Ceres Courier.

During the fight, a K-9 officer arrived and released his police dog, which bit Miller rather than the suspect, according to the article.

Moland aspired to be a law enforcement officer and recently had applied with several local agencies, according to his neighbors.

“He wanted to be a police officer, and to be killed by one ... ,” the neighbor trailed off, still shocked by the news.

She asked not to be identified but said the family is “courteous, very quiet.” She said Moland and his wife have a son in sixth grade and a 4-year-old daughter.

“They are a great family; I am saddened by this,” she said.

Sheriff Adam Christianson confirmed that Moland had applied for a deputy sheriff position, which could have led to him attending the police academy. He had passed a physical agility test, written exam and interview panel. Background investigators had begun talking to Moland’s friends, family and neighbors but had not finished, Christianson said.

Moland had worked at the WinCo Foods store on Plaza Parkway as a loss-prevention officer since 2006, said the company’s vice president of public and legal affairs, Michael Read.

In 2008, WinCo, Moland and another employee were named in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Edmond Flores, a shoplifter who died the day after a struggle with the two employees.

The case was settled in 2011, according to Read. Both sides signed confidentiality agreements.

Flores, 35, was believed to have been attempting to leave the WinCo without paying for hair gel, deodorant and other bathroom products in August 2007 when he was stopped by the two loss-prevention officers, according to Bee archives.

As the officers were trying to return Flores to the store, a struggle ensued and Flores at some point hit the ground.

The men brought Flores to an upstairs office, where they noticed he needed medical care and called for an ambulance.

According to the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office, Flores’ death was listed as accidental, the result of head trauma.

Three separate and independent investigations have been launched into the current incident, which is protocol for any officer-involved shooting in Stanislaus County. The Modesto Police Department will conduct the criminal investigation, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office will conduct an independent review of the incident, and the Ceres Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit will conduct an administrative investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

No further details have been released.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters can text information to Crime Stoppers at 274637; type “TIP704” along with the message.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 6:21 AM with the headline "Modesto police identify man fatally shot at Beyer Park by Ceres police officer."