Teen Killed by Police Wasn’t Being Chased

Sheriff’s detectives probing last month’s fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old Huntington Beach man holding a toy gun have concluded that the teen was not fleeing authorities and that officers were chasing another man when they came across the victim.

Sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that the officers lost sight of the suspect before seeing Antonio Saldivar clutching the toy rifle on a dark street in the city’s Oakview section. One of the officers fired, apparently thinking that the victim was the man they had been chasing, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

The latest development in the case came to light a month ago when another man, Brigido Cara Mendez, told police it was he--not Saldivar--whom police had been chasing the night of May 5. Coincidentally, the same Huntington Beach officer involved in the shooting--Mark Wersching--arrested Mendez on an outstanding warrant a month ago and first learned of the revelation, officials said.

Mendez, 21, then allegedly threatened to kill Wersching and told him that gang members living in Oakview were also planning to attack him, police said.

“I’m going to shoot you ‘cause you killed an innocent person,” Mendez allegedly told the officer while sitting handcuffed in a police cruiser. “You’ll be dead in two hours.”

Sheriff’s officials said the new details will help piece together the events that led up to the shooting, which triggered protests in Oakview--a heavily Latino neighborhood that is one of the city’s poorest.

Huntington Beach police acknowledged Wednesday they had been mistaken when they said Saldivar had fled from police before he was shot.

But sheriff’s and police officials said the news does not necessarily prove that Wersching acted improperly in shooting Saldivar.

“It doesn’t change the fact that he was holding a toy gun and that the officers apparently feared for their lives,” Amormino said.

Saldivar’s relatives said they feel vindicated by the latest news.

Susana Campos, the teen’s sister, said she and others told police weeks ago that officers had chased another man--not her brother--the night of the shooting. But, she said, police did not believe them.

Campos, 24, said she still harbors serious doubts about the police version of events that night--particularly the assertion that her brother pointed a toy rifle at officers. Her brother had no history of violence, she said.

Saldivar’s family has filed a $15-million claim against the city and Police Department, saying Wersching has a history of using excessive force. The city has yet to take action on the claim.

Timothy Black, an attorney representing Saldivar’s family, said the latest development casts doubt on the police version of events.

“It does even more to undermine their position that Saldivar would have had a motive to pick up a toy gun,” Black said. “None of it makes any sense.”

Police had said Wersching and another officer saw Saldivar peering into a car and began chasing him. After briefly losing sight of him, police said, the officer spotted Saldivar holding what appeared to be a rifle and opened fire.

Now, however, authorities believe it was Mendez the officers chased and that they came upon Saldivar later.

Two weeks after the shooting, Wersching was on night patrol when he spotted Mendez riding in a car near Beach Boulevard and Heil Avenue.

Wersching told his supervisors he recognized Mendez as a gang member and knew there was a warrant for his arrest. Wersching stopped the car and arrested Mendez on suspicion of carrying false identification.

As Wersching drove Mendez to Huntington Beach Jail, Mendez began threatening the officer, Police Lt. Chuck Thomas said.

“Why do you want to shoot me?” the officer reportedly asked.

“Because you killed an innocent man,” Mendez allegedly replied.

Thomas said he was unsure why Wersching recognized Mendez on May 19 and not the night of the shooting. But Thomas said that on May 5, Wersching never got close enough to Mendez and that the suspect only glanced in his direction before fleeing.

Sheriff’s officials said they have corroborated Mendez’s account of the May 5 chase and are following up on Mendez’s contention that he was an acquaintance of Saldivar. Detectives are trying to determine how well the two knew each other and whether they were together the night of the shooting.

Thomas said Mendez’s threats have worried department officials, who earlier this week temporarily moved Wersching from patrol to investigations as a precaution.

Thomas said Mendez allegedly told Wersching he knew where the officer lived. The department is beefing up patrols in the officer’s neighborhood and monitoring his house.

“They sound like they could be credible threats,” Thomas said. “We have to take them very seriously.”