DA report on shooting death of homeless man Kurt Reinhold falls short – Orange County Register

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s decision not to indict the deputy secretary for fatally shooting a homeless man in San Clemente in 2020 raises the same old unanswered question about whether the public can trust the current police accountability system. It’s the latest example of how the surveillance system primarily protects officers rather than the public.

To be clear, we disagree with Spitzer’s final conclusion, but the set’s 10-page report reads as if it were written by the deputy secretary’s defense attorney or union representative. Despite its objectivity, it only deceives officers’ views, misleads victims by presenting past arrests, and never challenges questionable policy decisions that lead to catastrophic use of deadly force.

According to reports, on September 23, 2020, deputies Jonathan Israel and Eduardo Duran approached a 42-year-old, homeless black man named Kurt Reinhold. These two officers are Homeless Liaison Officers trained by the sheriff’s department to “reduce the situation” with homeless people at the scene” and direct them to social services, This makes the challenge even more difficult.

They are said to have tried to arrest Reinhold on suspicion of malpractice, but he ignored their orders and started walking into the street. Two delegates tried to steer Reinhold back to the sidewalk. They get into an argument, when Duran gets his hands on Reinhold – and somehow Reinhold lands in Israel. The report said Reinhold grabbed the Israeli gun and Duran then shot Reinhold.