Santa Ana Officer Cleared in ’98 Shooting

The Orange County Grand Jury has voted not to indict a Santa Ana police officer who shot to death a parolee driving a stolen car, a killing that has led to protests and raised allegations in the Latino community of a cover-up.

After hearing a day and a half of testimony, the grand jury decided Friday that Officer James Tavenner did not commit a crime when he killed Jose Campos in September.

The decision was not made public until Wednesday because the district attorney’s office, which presented the case to the jury, was reviewing the evidence, said Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor.

The grand jury’s decision was not unexpected, said Latino leaders and the attorney for the Campos family, which has filed a $10-million lawsuit against Santa Ana.

“We had more or less reached the conclusion that the DA did not really attempt to fully prosecute this case but merely went through the motions,” said Josie Montoya, a spokeswoman for the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Community groups calling for justice in the Campos case held a candlelight vigil and rally outside the Santa Ana Police Department on Wednesday night.

Marc Creighton Block, the attorney for the Campos family, said he wants to see what evidence the grand jury heard.

Said Block: “Our contention is that not only was this an obvious act of horrible excessive force and manipulation of evidence to make the shooting look OK, but it’s just another act in a line of activity that shows a standard policy of oppression and excessive force.”

The grand jury vote was not made public.

The shooting happened Labor Day weekend at North Laurel and 5th streets, when Tavenner went to investigate a report of a stolen Toyota Camry.

The officer walked toward the parked car with his gun drawn. Campos was in the driver’s seat.

Tavenner testified to the grand jury that Campos started the engine and pulled away from the curb while the officer was standing at the car door with his pistol pointed at the driver’s head, according to a news release from the district attorney.

Tavenner testified that he yelled several times for Campos to stop, but Campos refused. As Campos drove, Tavenner was running next to the car, with his hand on the door and his gun aimed at Campos.

The officer testified that he was afraid he was going to be hit by a another car or that Campos would run over him if he let go.

Tavenner said he fired one shot at Campos, which grazed his shoulder and hit him in the side of the head. Campos died the next day. Tests showed heroin and alcohol in his blood.

After the incident, police learned that Campos was on parole for drug possession and had a long criminal record. At the time of his death, he was wanted for drug possession and was in violation of parole.

Tavenner, a police officer for nine years, had never fired his gun on duty, according to the district attorney.

Mike Jacobs, the assistant district attorney who presented the case to the grand jury, said that, while he did not make a recommendation to the panel, he agreed with its conclusion.

“We put on as complete a hearing as possible and all the evidence that pertained to the incident that either side would be interested in,” he said.

Santa Ana Police Lt. George Saadeh, commander of internal affairs, said the department agreed there was no criminal intent on Tavenner’s part. After receiving documents from the district attorney, police will continue investigating whether Tavenner violated department policy.

The FBI has forwarded its investigation of the shooting to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., said Gary Morley, a supervisory special agent in Santa Ana. The department will decide whether further investigation is necessary.

Meanwhile, Mauro Morales, an aide to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, R-Santa Ana, said the congresswoman and state Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, will try to arrange a meeting between a representative from the state attorney general and community leaders, who have long asked that the state investigate the incident.