Deputy Who Shot 3 People in 9 Months Is Cleared by D.A.

The district attorney’s office Tuesday cleared a sheriff’s deputy who was involved in three shooting incidents in less than nine months, but also questioned whether the deputy is fit to work as a peace officer.

William Anderson, a five-year veteran assigned to the Sheriff’s Department Vista office, fired his weapon while apprehending three fleeing suspects in separate incidents, killing one and wounding the other two. The findings released Tuesday by the district attorney clear Anderson in the fatal shooting of Junior Sylvester Clarke, 28, last May 5, and the accidental wounding of Arthur Pyper, then 16, last July 11.

He had already been cleared in the Nov. 23, 1988, wounding of Sergio Castillo, whose age was unavailable. The shootings were called justified, or, in the case of Pyper, accidental.

Despite the findings, the district attorney expressed concern about Anderson’s abilities to perform as a law enforcement officer. According to the report, which was addressed to Sheriff John Duffy, the incidents left district attorney investigators “uneasy.”

“Viewed separately, each shooting incident was either legally justified, or accidental. However, when viewed together they cause us concern,” concluded the seven-page report signed by District Atty. Edwin L. Miller.

The report noted that in the incident involving Clarke, who was stopped by Anderson while driving a stolen car, Anderson was armed with three firearms and “an undisclosed number of knives.”

“Deputy Anderson’s statements, record of performance and perhaps the manner in which he armed himself prior to the Clarke incident, may reflect a personality which is unsuitable for law enforcement duties,” said the report.

Clarke had attempted to run away from Anderson and had overpowered him when Anderson pulled a handgun from an ankle holster and shot Clarke through the heart, while he was straddling and choking the deputy, who was on the ground.

After the shooting, district attorney investigators quoted Clarke as saying that he was “personally offended if somebody’s going to run on me.”

Anderson’s superiors have described him as “aggressive, gung-ho and often overzealous,” the report noted. The investigation did not reveal any evidence that Anderson has received additional training or that Sheriff’s Department officials have evaluated his performance as a result of the shootings.

However, the report noted that investigators were “informed” that Anderson successfully completed a self-defense course last November.

“A review of Deputy Anderson’s training, personnel and disciplinary files revealed no information that Deputy Anderson has received additional training or that your department has reviewed his overall performance to determine if he may have propensities to become engaged in incidents requiring the use of deadly force, or is merely a victim of fate,” the report said.

The report urged Duffy to evaluate Anderson’s performance and personality to determine if they coincide with departmental policies and if he is suitable to work as a law enforcement officer.

Sheriff’s Lt. Liz Foster, a spokeswoman for the department, said the department has no plans to get rid of Anderson, who she said was evaluated by a psychiatrist after every shooting and found fit to continue working as a patrol deputy. As far as Anderson is concerned, the department will continue with “the status quo,” she added.

“The district attorney’s opinion is based on the totality of three incidents. It would appear that it goes against the professional opinion of a psychiatrist,” said Foster. “Deputy Anderson continues to educate himself in the field of law enforcement and does that on his own time and expense. He has a reputation for being a pro-active deputy and has an arrest and conviction record to back that up.”

Nevertheless, Foster acknowledged that three deputy-involved shootings in nine months were “unusual.”

“Granted, three shootings are unusual. That’s not something that’s common. That does get your attention and does bring concern,” Foster said.

In the Clarke shooting, which occurred at about 4 a.m., several witnesses reported hearing Anderson pleading with Clarke to stop choking him. Anderson warned Clarke that he had a pistol and would shoot unless he let him go, several witnesses said.

An autopsy revealed that Clarke had methamphetamine and cocaine in his system and a search of the stolen car he was driving turned up cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine packaged for sale, said the report.

Pyper was injured on his cheek by the muzzle flash of Anderson’s service revolver when he fired it accidentally while apprehending Pyper. The juvenile was stopped for driving a suspected stolen vehicle and led deputies on a chase through back yards and over fences.

Pyper was stopped by another deputy when Anderson came up from behind and pushed the young man to the ground. According to the report, Anderson said that he was preparing to holster his weapon when it went off accidentally next to Pyper’s face.

In the incident involving Castillo, Anderson shot the suspect in the hand following a foot chase. The district attorney’s report noted that Anderson “inarticulately” justified the shooting because he feared Castillo was danger to other deputies and the public. But the report noted that Anderson “had no evidence that Castillo might be armed.”

Nevertheless, Anderson was cleared in the shooting by district attorney investigators, who noted that Castillo, who was stopped on suspicion of drunk driving, may have earlier attempted to run down Anderson with his car.

On Tuesday, Foster said that Anderson did not violate any departmental policies by carrying two concealed weapons, in addition to his service revolver, and an array of knives on the night of the Clarke shooting.

“Just about everybody I’ve ever known in the field carries a knife. It’s not intended to be a weapon, but a tool. He could’ve had a tiny, pocket knife or Swiss Army knife . . . I’m not covering for him, but it’s difficult to address the issue when you don’t know how many knives you’re talking about,” Foster said.

As to concealed weapons, Foster said that deputies commonly carry them as “hide-outs.”