11 year old shot in back by SWAT is collateral damage
Blank Frank
bfk at mindspring.com
Fri Feb 23 11:38:21 PST 2001
SWAT Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Boy, 11,
During Modesto Raid
From Associated Press
MODESTO, Calif.--A
SWAT team officer who shot
an 11-year-old boy in
the back during a methamphetamine
raid was cleared of
criminal charges Thursday by the state
attorney general.
The killing of
Alberto Sepulveda was an accident, and
there was no that
evidence Modesto Officer David Hawn
intended to kill the
boy, said Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.
The boy was lying
face down on his bedroom floor
when Hawn's shotgun
fired.
The Sept. 13 raid
was part of a countywide effort to
crack down on a
methamphetamine drug ring. The boy's
father, Moises
Sepulveda Sr., was arrested on charges of
conspiracy to
distribute the drug.
Lockyer said the
impact of the killing was devastating
and compelled him to
set up a committee to review
SWAT team practices in
the state.
"Unfortunately,
too many times the deployment of a
SWAT team has resulted
in the unintentional death or
injury to a peace
officer or member of the public,"
Lockyer said.
The group of
prosecutors, sheriffs, police officers,
judges and other state
and local officials is to recommend
SWAT team guidelines.
The findings of
the 15-page report by Lockyer and
Stanislaus County Dist.
Atty. Jim Brazelton mirror an
earlier investigation
by Modesto police.
Sepulveda's family
has filed a federal lawsuit against
the city, Hawn and
three other officers.
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