Stanislaus DA clears deputy in shooting that wounded knife-wielding man in Salida
A sheriff’s deputy was justified in shooting and wounding a knife-wielding man in a Salida home in late 2018, the Stanislaus County district attorney said Wednesday.
DA Birgit Fladager cleared Deputy Darwin Hatfield in the Dec. 30, 2018, shooting of Andrew Mitchell Haro, then 31. She found that Haro had thrown the knife at Hatfield and another deputy responding to a disturbance at the Stonehart Lane house.
“The use of force by Deputy Hatfield was in direct response to the threat he perceived,” Fladager wrote in a letter to Sheriff Jeff Dirkse. “In other words, it was reasonable and justified.”
Haro was treated for several gunshot wounds and booked at the Stanislaus County Jail. An initial report said he had been shot in the legs, an arm and the torso.
Fladager said her review of the shooting could not proceed until Haro’s criminal case was complete. That happened when he pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 2020, to assault with a deadly weapon on peace officers. He was sentenced to four years in state prison.
Sunday afternoon call to Stonehart Lane
Deputies had responded at about 2:30 p.m. that Sunday to a home that Haro was visiting on the 5300 block of Stonehart.
The DA’s letter provided these further details:
A female resident reported that Haro got into a fight with her, then locked himself into a room and started doing drugs. Hatfield and Deputy Brock Condit tried to speak with Haro through the door, but he would not answer. The deputies tried to open the door but found it partially blocked by furniture.
Hatfield and Condit then forced the door open and found Haro holding the knife on a bed. He refused their order to drop the knife, then threw it toward them. Hatfield then fired his gun at Haro, who briefly tried to retrieve the knife. The suspect was treated at a local hospital before being booked.
Haro is at Salinas Valley State Prison
Haro’s sentence in Stanislaus Superior County included credit for 384 days in county jail. He is now at Salinas Valley State Prison, according to state corrections records.
Fladager said Haro’s admission of guilt “establishes conclusively that Deputy Hatfield was justified in his actions.”
