Officer Cleared in Shooting of Unarmed Man

A Santa Ana police officer who fatally shot an unarmed robbery suspect in the back has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

The officer shot and killed Ernest Henry Nunez, 31, of Orange on Sept. 20 after he jumped out of the car he was riding in with his family and ran from police. When he ignored orders to stop, Nunez was shot in the head and back, police said. He died five hours later.

The officer, who has not been identified, told police officials that he fired the shots because he believed that Nunez was reaching for a gun in his waistband. Santa Ana police policy permits use of deadly force when “there is fear of death or serious bodily injury to the officer.”

No weapon was found on Nunez, who had been stopped by police because he was a suspect in the $3,000 robbery two weeks earlier of a children’s clothing store that his wife managed in Orange.

Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton said the department was notified by the district attorney’s office on Wednesday that the officer involved was officially cleared of violating any administrative procedures.

The dead man’s family said Thursday that they were unhappy with the decision not to press charges and plan to pursue a claim that they have filed against the Santa Ana Police Department.

“He was running with his back turned and (the police) way out is to say he was reaching for a weapon,” said David Nunez, the victim’s brother. “Well, no weapon was found and we have had no contact with the police, so we only know what we read in the papers. They have not tried to tell us their side of the story.”

“I am not a cop hater or anything, but my brother is dead,” Nunez added. “And I don’t feel he got a fair chance before his life was taken.”