D.A. Exonerates Escondido Officer in Shooting Death of Youth

Despite the “quantum of force” used, the shooting death of a teen-ager by an Escondido police officer Jan. 2 was legally justified, the district attorney’s office concluded in a report issued Tuesday by the Escondido Police Department.

The report, signed by Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller, said Officer Martin Hewlett justifiably felt fear for his life at the hands of 17-year-old Robert Scriven, who had struggled for the officer’s gun and had taken control of the fight until the officer fired his semi-automatic weapon 15 times, striking Scriven 14 times and mortally wounding him.

Test firing of the weapon showed that 15 shots could be fired in 4.25 seconds, adding credence, the report said, to Hewlett’s contention that he fired his weapon rapidly while trying to get Scriven off him.

Difficulty in Focusing

Hewlett, in statements that night to investigating officers, said he first fired his weapon as he was on the ground and Scriven was atop him, wrestling for control of his service revolver. Hewlett said he fired another burst at Scriven as he fell off him, but was unsure, because he had difficulty focusing on Scriven in the dark, whether he was hitting the youth.

Scriven, who according to the district attorney’s report had a lengthy criminal record and who at the time of his death was shown to have “a large quantity of amphetamine and methamphetamine” in his system, was chased into a field on the north side of Escondido by Hewlett after leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car.

Scriven’s family has filed a wrongful-death claim against Hewlett and the Police Department, claiming the officer used excessive force.

Based on Interviews

The district attorney’s investigation was based on interviews with other officers, physical evidence at the scene, an autopsy report and a review of “a synopsis” of Hewlett’s statements to investigators the night of the shooting.

Miller noted, however, that there was no direct questioning of Hewlett because the officer’s attorney, Everett Bobbitt, objected to it “without a guarantee tantamount to a grant of immunity from prosecution.”

“We view such a grant to be inappropriate,” Miller said. “Regretfully, therefore, we are left to draw inferences as to how or why Officer Hewlett acted or reacted during the incident rather than being able to rely on his own detailed statements.”

Bobbitt said Tuesday he did not ask for immunity from prosecution, but only that any statements by his client not be used against him if authorities decided to prosecute the officer. Bobbitt said such requests are typical among attorneys such as himself who represent police officers involved in shootings.

Advised Against Statement

“They could have still prosecuted him based on every other aspect of their investigation,” Bobbitt said. “He (Hewlett) wanted to make a statement, but I specifically advised him not to. That’s my advice in every case, no matter how clean the shooting is. The district attorney’s office tells me they consider any officer’s statements as self-serving, and, if they were going to prosecute him, I’d rather a jury hear his statement fresh than related second-hand.”

Miller suggested, in his report, that when a department interviews one of its officers involved in a shooting, it record the interview “by audiotape, videotape or both,” so subsequent investigation does not rely on summaries.

But Escondido Police Lt. Earl Callander said he knows of no departments that interview their officers on tape when they make their initial statement.

Under Stress

“We’ll look at the suggestion, but what kind of detail do they want? Emotional reaction? We know the officers are under stress, so we’re reluctant to do those kinds of tapes,” Callander said Tuesday.

Hewlett’s lack of assistance notwithstanding, Miller’s report clearly came down on the officer’s side.

It noted, for instance, that Scriven had a “significant history of committing crimes,” including residential burglary and auto theft, had escaped from custody three times in the past and was on parole from the California Youth Authority--where he had gained strength by working out with weights--at the time of last January’s incident.

That night, Scriven was being pursued by a different Escondido police officer for speeding when Hewlett joined the chase, ending up as the first officer at the scene where Scriven sped out into the dirt and ran into a field with a thicket of brush up to 8 feet tall.

Caught Scriven

Hewlett caught Scriven and twice prepared to handcuff him. Both times, according to the report, Scriven bucked up and each time Hewlett hit him with his baton and got him back on the ground.

Scriven reared up a third time, knocking Hewlett--who said he felt exhausted from the chase--backward and onto his back, according to the report. Scriven maneuvered himself on top of the officer and, according to the officer’s statement that night to others, he drew his right arm back as if he was going to slug the officer.

“Next, he (Hewlett) pointed the pistol at the chest of Scriven and ordered him to stop or he would shoot,” Miller’s report stated. But Scriven grabbed the semiautomatic weapon with both hands and Hewlett “was consciously aware the pistol had no safety and would fire if pressure was applied to the trigger,” the report said.

Fought for Gun

The two fought for control of the gun and, at one point, Scriven pressed the weapon against Hewlett’s throat--a contention validated by abrasions on the officer’s neck, Miller said.

“Officer Hewlett remembers thinking that he was going to die unless he acted immediately,” the report said. “He remembers believing that Scriven was going to shoot him with his own pistol and thinking that he did not want to die. He believed that, if he did not shoot Scriven, he would be killed.”

Hewlett pulled his pistol back from Scriven and fired toward Scriven, the report said. “He did not know if any of the shots struck Scriven. He said the area was completely dark and he was unable to clearly see Scriven.”

In fact, based in part on the findings of the autopsy, it seemed that Scriven was struck in the front, hand and side--including the most probable fatal shot, which entered Scriven from his left side and perforated both lungs.

Fired Another Burst

As Scriven fell backward, twisting toward his right, Hewlett fired another burst, hitting Scriven on the back side.

By now, other officers had arrived, and they handcuffed Scriven.

District attorney’s investigators who visited the scene on a subsequent dark night said the high brush and the general terrain “could have easily enhanced and magnified Officer Hewlett’s sense of personal peril.”

“Also, the firing of the pistol and the resulting flashes could have contributed to Officer Hewlett’s inability to visually focus on Scriven. Such shots can distort vision on a dark night and that phenomenon may, in part, explain the firing of multiple shots,” the report said.

Miller said that “the physical stature of Robert Scriven suggests without question he had the ability to carry off such a struggle. Witnesses described him as very strong.” His “condition and stability was also undoubtedly affected” by the use of methamphetamines, Miller said.

Ran From Officer

“He compounded the situation by running away from the arresting officer followed by struggling with him,” the report continued. “He had told witnesses he did not intend to go back to CYA.”

Miller conceded, “The number of shots fired is a significant matter for an evaluation on the justification of a police shooting incident.” But it was not the sole determining factor as to whether the shooting was justified, he added.

“We conclude that the quantum of force used by Officer Hewlett was not unreasonable when evaluated in relation to the level of threat perceived and described by him,” Miller said.

Both Bobbitt and Callander said they were satisfied by the report’s conclusion. The Escondido Police Department will now, with Miller’s report in hand, continue its own internal investigation with a shooting review board, as is customary whenever an officer fires his weapon, Callander said.

Review Planned

The police panel “will review Police Department policies, procedures and training related to this shooting incident,” he said.

Hewlett returned to duty shortly after the shooting and was involved the following month in another pursuit--this time, of a motorcyclist and his passenger who got on Interstate 15 in Escondido and allegedly sped north on their stolen vehicle.

The chase wound through Gopher Canyon Road north of Escondido and headed into Vista, where the motorcycle went out of control and overturned in a field.

Callander said that, although Hewlett was involved in the pursuit, the actual arrests were made by another Escondido police officer and a sheriff’s deputy, along with a police dog, and that no injuries were reported.