By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADERA, Calif. (AP) -- A police officer who investigators say killed a handcuffed suspect in the back of her squad car after reaching for her stun gun and pulling out her real gun by mistake will not face criminal charges.
After a six-month investigation, prosecutors determined that Officer Marcy Noriega did not intend to kill Everardo Torres, said Assistant District Attorney Eric Wyatt.
“Though this was a terribly tragic event, after reviewing all of the evidence, it is clear Officer Noriega’s shooting of Everardo Torres was an accident,’' Wyatt said Friday.
Torres, 24, was shot to death in October. He had been booked for allegedly resisting arrest as police tried to quiet a loud party.
Noriega told investigators she intended to shock Torres with her stun gun because he was kicking at the car’s window.