Oxnard Police Chief Talks About “Unintended Consequences”

Oxnard Police Chief Jeri William’s said she wanted to be the face of the department, speaking out, following the officer involved shooting Saturday night, that left two men dead in La Colonia.Williams said, “It was believed that the suspects in the vehicle had been involved in brandishing, The suspects in the vehicle refused to follow the officers orders. Additional officers were dispatched to assist and at some point the vehicle fled again from our officers. The vehicle finally stopped at which time the two suspects fled from the vehicle and the officers. The officers were fired upon while in foot pursuit. Multiple officers returned fire.””As the scene was secured we determined that three suspects or subjects were struck by gunfire. Two of those subjects received fatal gunshot wounds, the third received non life threatening injuries.Unfortunately one of the subjects to sustain fatal gunshot wounds was Mr. Alfonso Limon of Oxnard. The violent behavior of these suspects in this incident created and resulted in a tragedy and a tragic death of Mr. Limon. The suspects, keep in mind were in control of the situation, and our officers were responding to those threats and the actual incident of them killing and shooting and trying to shoot and kill Oxnard Officers. I and my agency and the City of Oxnard contend our heartfelt condolences to the Limon family because their going through this incident is something that no family should have to go through. It is also important to note that our officers have been impacted by this incident as well and as they have their administrative time, which is basic practice for us, we contend our heartfelt concern for those officers and their families. Remember that our community has been impacted as well by this incident and this tragic event and I will be willing to entertain any questions at this time.”During a question and answer period with reporters, Williams said she called Limon’s mother, but Mrs. Limon would not take the call.Williams said she can understand the anger in the community. She said, ” When any type of tragedy happens in the community, especially one with unintended consequences in this regard, I think it’s important to understand that everyone feels the tragedy differently. There are certain emotions that people will go through. Our employees will go through this as well. But you never want to discount the fact that the Limon family is having to deal with something, that to be honest with you as a mother, I can only imagine what they are going through.”The Chief would not say how many officers were involved, but she said they are on paid administrative leave.She also said that weapons were confiscated at the scene.Members of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department also spoke.Capt. Chris Dunn said the investigation is the department’s highest priority.Sgt. Gary Pentis offered a guarantee that the investigation would be done in an extremely thorough and factual manner.Jose Zepeda , 24, of Oxnard died at the scene.The other surviving suspects, Raphael Hernandez and Justin Villa have been arrested.Villa is still be treated for non-life threatening wounds.The exact charges have not been released or filed by the District Attorney’s Office.As for the community, flyers are being passed out at a makeshift memorial for Limon.The flyers invite people to join a “National Day of Action Against Police Brutality.”Organizers plan to rally and march from Del Sol Park in La Colonia to the Oxnard Police Department at 5p.m. Monday.Share your comments about this story with us on the KEY News Facebook page. Connect with KEY News on Twitter