By Pablo Lopez
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — Lawyers for the parents of Dylan Noble, the unarmed 19-year-old fatally shot by two Fresno police officers, want an outside law enforcement agency such as the FBI or the state’s Attorney General’s Office to investigate the officer-involved shooting.
In a letter to Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, Fresno attorneys Warren Paboojian and Stuart Chandler note the “close working relationship” between the Fresno Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office.
“Even though we have the utmost confidence in the District Attorney’s Office in regard to this investigation, we are asking for an outside, independent investigation,” the letter says.
The lawyers also say in the letter, dated July 1, that they have a video “regarding this tragedy.” But “the video shows half of the story. On behalf of the families, we would like to review the entire video in this matter,” the letter says.
The partial video has been given to Smittcamp’s office, the letter says.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer has said that the two officers involved in the June 25 shooting were wearing body cameras that videotaped the shooting. Dyer, however, has not released the video, saying its release could jeopardize the police investigation.
The shooting took place at Shields and Armstrong avenues in southeast Fresno. The two officers, one a 20-year veteran and the other with 17 years on the police force, have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
According to Dyer, the events leading to the shooting unfolded rapidly:
Police received a call at 3:40 p.m. from a woman who told dispatchers that a man dressed in camouflage with a rifle was at Clinton and Clovis avenues. Officers were in the area searching for the man when a pickup squealed its tires and sped from Sunnyside Avenue onto Shields Avenue.
Officers caught up with the pickup at Fowler Avenue and Shields and activated emergency lights. The pickup stopped near a gas station at Armstrong Avenue and Shields.
Dyer said Noble, who was driving the truck, refused to comply with repeated commands to show both his hands, leading the officers to believe that he was armed.
Noble then placed his right hand behind his back as he “walked toward officers very rapidly.”
Dyer said Noble made the comment “I hate my (expletive) life” as he approached police and pulled his hand out “very quickly.”
The shooting followed. One of the officers fired three rounds from his service handgun and the second officer fired one round from a shotgun.
“There was no firearm on this individual,” Dyer said. “There was no firearm found in the pickup.”
Dyer also said Noble did not have a criminal history.
Another unanswered question is what became of the suspect, reportedly armed with a rifle, who was the subject of the police search that led to Noble’s death.
Dyer has said police body cameras also contain footage of the officers’ encounter with the woman who reported seeing the suspect.
Copyright 2016 The Fresno Bee