Westminster police officers who shot and killed a man on June 30 followed proper procedure and won’t face criminal charges, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
Officers Roger Stockman and Scott Hopkins, feared for their lives when Brett Rodriguez began to draw a firearm from his waistband, according to a Sept. 26 letter from 17 Judicial District Attorney Dave Young to Westminster Police Chief Tim Carlson.
Members of Westminster’s Special Enforcement Team were looking for a known fugitive near 3700 West 68th Avenue when they spotted Rodriguez, who was wanted on a warrant for felony child abuse.
Officers Chris Neal and Matt Neihart lost sight of Rodriguez and parked to continue surveillance and wait for his return.
About an hour later, Rodriguez returned to the Hidden Lake Apartments parking lot with his cousin, Robert Rodriguez.
When Robert Rodriguez went into his apartment, Rodriguez remained sitting in the front passenger seat of a 1972 Buick Skylark.
Members of the Special Enforcement Team approached, identifying themselves as police officers and telling Rodriguez to show his hands.
“As Officer Stockman and Officer Hopkins approached the front passenger side window, they observed Mr. Brett Rodriguez reach for a handgun in his right side waistband,” the letter said.
“In response, Officer Stockman and Officer Hopkins fired their duty weapons at … Rodriguez causing his death. A handgun was later recovered from the front floorboard inside the Buick Skylark.”
Officer Mark Cressman, a K-9 handler who was assisting with the arrest, also told investigators that he saw Rodriguez lean toward the driver’s seat exposing a gun on his right hip.
Cressman pulled his dog back from the car and drew his weapon.
When Rodriguez’s hand reached the top of the gun, Cressman said, Stockman and Hopkins began to fire.
“Officer Cressman estimated that 14 to 15 shots were fired.”
Cressman didn’t shoot because he could no longer see Rodriguez, who was slumped over towards the driver’s side of the vehicle.
During an earlier arrest of Rodriguez in which Stockman also was involved, Rodriguez told police, “that if he would have had a gun, he would have made the police kill him,” the letter said.
Robert Rodriguez told police that in the past his cousin had said he would never go back to jail.
“They are going to have to take me if I go back to jail, and I’m not going back,” Rodriguez told his cousin.
The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Team, which includes detectives and crime scene technicians from multiple police agencies with in the district, as well as investigators from the District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation.
