Gates Seeks State Probe of Shooting : O.C. sheriff: But attorney general turns down unusual request, aimed at answering criticism surrounding death of black deputy in training session.

In an unusual move aimed at answering public criticism, Sheriff Brad Gates asked state prosecutors to conduct an independent investigation into the Christmas Day shooting death of an Orange County deputy, but the state turned him down, officials said Tuesday.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is already investigating the shooting, but some community groups--most notably a coalition of black leaders--have publicly questioned whether that office faces a conflict of interest in probing colleagues at the Sheriff’s Department.

But a spokesman for Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said state officials see no evidence of such a conflict, and are “comfortable” with Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi’s office continuing to direct the probe, now in its third week. “We don’t believe there is a conflict that prohibits the D.A. from proceeding independently,” said attorney general’s spokesman Dave Puglia.

Lungren could decide later, however, that he wants to review the district attorney’s findings in the case to satisfy himself that local prosecutors did not abuse their discretion, Puglia added.

Gates said he “wasn’t aware that (Lungren) had made any decision. But I’m sure he’s done whatever he thinks is appropriate, and I’ll be happy with that.”

At issue is the question of who should decide whether Deputy Brian Scanlan, a training officer, was criminally negligent when he shot Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins, 30, in the face and killed him about 2 p.m. Christmas Day in a parking lot behind a Lake Forest movie theater. Authorities say the shooting took place accidentally during an impromptu training exercise.

Investigators have focused on the possibility that Robins, who was black, playing the part of a suspect in a car stop, may have startled the 32-year-old Scanlan, who is white, by reaching for a gun hidden above his car visor during the re-enactment, and that Scanlan then shot him. It will be at least several weeks before prosecutors complete their investigation and decide whether to file charges in the case.

In a letter to Lungren dated Monday, Gates said that he had “every confidence” in the district attorney’s ability to fairly handle the case. But he acknowledged that his department and the district attorney do maintain a “daily working relationship” in county government, and he said that closeness has prompted some “mistrust” in the community.

“We want to assure the community that there is a process in place upon which they can rely for a comprehensive and objective review of the facts of this case,” Gates wrote in the letter, a copy of which was provided to The Times.

A 1985 policy established by the Orange County Board of Supervisors set down specific procedures for the district attorney to investigate all officer-involved shootings at local departments, and it is rare for local authorities to seek to circumvent that policy.

In fact, several local officials said they knew of no precedent.

“I never recall the sheriff doing something like this,” said Senior Assistant Dist. Atty. Maury Evans. “This is the first time.”

While black leaders said they were heartened by Gates’ request, others in government and law enforcement took a more cynical view.

One prosecutor familiar with the case suggested that Gates was seeking to influence public opinion on the case through political posturing. He said most law enforcement officials realize that the attorney general would rarely if ever investigate an officer-involved shooting until the district attorney’s office has completed its own review.

“This is a weird thing for Brad Gates to do,” said the prosecutor, who asked not to be identified. “It would be one thing for the state attorney general’s office to be asked to review Mike Capizzi’s findings. But it’s another to ask the AG to come in at this point” before the probe is finished.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, the senior member of the Board of Supervisors and its incoming chairman, said he was “a little bit shocked” by Gates’ request. “I admit I find it somewhat difficult to understand. I assumed that when the case was turned over to the district attorney . . . that they had the case for good,” he said.

“Obviously, he must be hearing some footsteps at his door and feels the action he has taken is not satisfying certain members of the public, and he thought this was necessary,” Riley said. “I would think the district attorney would feel somewhat angered by that evaluation, that maybe somebody would think he couldn’t do a good job because his building was nearby.”

But Capizzi said he was not bothered by Gates’ letter, a copy of which was forwarded to him Tuesday.

“I haven’t taken my blood pressure, but I think it’s basically the same as it was this morning,” he said. “We’re just trying to stay focused on this case.”

In the wake of the shooting, some area politicians and law enforcement officials questioned why deputies were training with loaded weapons at a public site, and they criticized Gates and the department for its slow release of information on the case.

Gates conceded for the first time last week that department policies on training and the use of firearms were apparently violated during the incident, but his acknowledgments appeared to do little in assuaging skeptics. In fact, he faced a new round of criticism last Thursday when a coalition of black civic groups demanded more information on the case and called for an independent investigation into Robins’ death.

The Rev. Van Roberson, a coalition member who is president of the Baptist Ministers Fellowship Conference in Orange County, said he was glad to hear about Gates’ request for state intervention.

“If they stepped up the investigation, that’s fine with me,” Roberson said in an interview. “We need to know that someone’s going to get to the bottom of this. You can’t tell me you have no answers when you have an officer shot down.”

He was frustrated, however, by the state’s apparent refusal to enter the case.

“What will it take for them to step in? That’s what we want to know,” he said. “If they don’t take (advice) from the sheriff, what more would it take?”

Robins’ family members declined comment on the issue of who should investigate the case.

Puglia of the attorney general’s office said Lungren spoke with both Gates and Capizzi on Tuesday. “I can tell you they are all in agreement that the district attorney can move ahead with the investigation,” he said.

But if there are signs at the completion of the investigation that local prosecutors “went out of bounds in their legal discretion,” state officials could then intervene, he said.

Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Dan Martini stressed that Gates has no problem with the district attorney’s handling of the case, but rather sought the state’s help in order to answer criticism from people in the community who questioned the impartiality of the investigation.

Gates “doesn’t want to leave any doubts because of the high sensitivity of this case,” Martini said. “What the sheriff is saying is that this (alleged conflict of interest) should not be an issue. But if it is, let’s put it to rest and turn it over to the AG.”

Times staff writer Mark Platte contributed to this report.