Stanislaus deputies — not homeless man they killed — escalated tension

In finding the fatal shooting of Eloy Gonzalez by Stanislaus sheriff’s deputies “justified,” District Attorney Birgit Fladager may have answered the wrong question.

Unanswered is why the events of that night led two deputies to pull their service weapons and fire five shots into the torso of the 41-year-old man. Who escalated this event?

DA Fladager touched on the beginning of this event. A more thorough examination reveals the downhill path to a death which might have been avoided.

The first two deputies on scene, outside a document shredding business in Modesto’s Beard Industrial District, responded to a “burglar alarm.” That term brings to mind a motion sensor, or the breach of a window or door. Not here.

The building has noise sensors. Certain noises trigger an alert in a monitoring section of the security company. Employees can then view the exterior with cameras. On this occasion they did not see anything suspicious but called sheriff’s dispatchers. A single patrol car was sent to check the building.

Two deputies caught the call. They parked their car on the west side of the single-story building. As they rounded the southeast side of the structure, a voice said “Hey, what’s up, guys.”

Surprised, the deputies drew weapons and began shouting commands. The primary order was to show hands. Initially, he was standing and complied. The second set of commands required Mr. Gonzalez to come out from behind a short section of shrubs. Deputies pulled away a cardboard sheet and were able to see him. He sat down but still showed his hands.

At this point, one of the deputies ordered Mr. Gonzalez to lie down on the ground. Gonzalez first said that his dad was a senator, then that his dad was the building owner.

Did the facts to this point raise at least a suspicion that the man was homeless and not responding rationally?

One of the deputies told Mr. Gonzalez that they wanted to inspect the building and that his refusal to surrender control to them was interfering with that inspection.

It could not have taken long for other deputies to do that inspection.

Ultimately, eight more deputies arrived. One or more of them could have made that inspection. In fact, the burglar alarm was a false alarm.

If the inspection had revealed that, contact between Mr. Gonzalez and the deputies could have ended.

But, the focus remained on getting Mr. Gonzalez to come out from his nest and to lie face down in the dirt. He was warned that a deputy with a dog was on the way and that things were going to get worse for him, and they did.

The deputies loosed the dog and charged Mr. Gonzalez, who in reaction pulled a hatchet from his belongings, prompting the shots that were fired.

So, did the deputies create the peril that justified their shooting? That, perhaps, should have been the question.

This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.