Officer Exonerated After Shooting Unarmed Man

A Woodlake police officer was cleared of any wrongdoing by department investigators after he shot an unarmed man outside the man’s home, according to a statement by the Visalia Police Department.

David Shawn Fettig, 29, heard what he thought was a burglar in his yard Jan. 8, and stepped outside in his underwear, holding a flashlight, to investigate. His car had been broken into the previous month.

Officer Robert Gilson said he was outside investigating the break-in. Fettig could not see him, witnesses said, because it was too dark. The witnesses also said Gilson did not identify himself before firing.

“I don’t see how they could have cleared the officer,” said David W. Fettig, David Shawn’s father.