Officers involved in fatal 2020 Paso Robles shooting deemed justified
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office announced Friday that it has concluded its review of the officer-involved shooting that took place in Paso Robles in June 2020.
The incident began around 3:15 a.m. on June 10, 2020, when officers received a call reporting gunfire near the Paso Robles Police Station on 10th Street.
During the two-day active-shooter situation conducted by Mason James Lira, one man was murdered, a sheriff's deputy was shot in the face and several other law enforcement officers were also injured. The incident ultimately ended on June 11 with the shooting death of Lira.
After careful review, the District Attorney's Office determined that the officers who used deadly force against Lira did not violate the law. No charges will be filed against them.
The District Attorney said that he has the responsibility to independently evaluate all officer-involved shootings that occur within San Luis Obispo County, with some exceptions. During a review, the DA must determine whether a law enforcement officer involved in the incident violated any California criminal law.
When reviewing any investigation for the possible filing of criminal charges, the District Attorney’s Office is bound by the crime charging standards that are applicable whether an individual is a civilian or a peace officer. Those standards are detailed in the California District Attorneys’ Association Uniform Crime Filing Standards, and state in part:
“The prosecutor should file a criminal complaint only if four basic requirements are satisfied:
- There has been a complete investigation and thorough consideration of all pertinent data;
- There is legally sufficient, admissible evidence of a corpus delecti (i.e., each element of the crime);
- There is legally sufficient, admissible evidence of the accused’s identity as the perpetrator of the crime; and
- The prosecutor has considered the probability of conviction by an objective factfinder (i.e., judge or jury) hearing the admissible evidence.
The evidence should be of such convincing force that it would warrant conviction of the crime charged by a reasonable and objective factfinder after hearing all the evidence available to the prosecutor at the time of the charging and after hearing the most plausible, reasonably foreseeable defense that could be raised under the circumstances presented to the prosecutor.”
Consistent with our obligation and the Uniform Crime Charging Standards, the District Attorney said an independent evaluation of the series of incidents was conducted.
According to the DA's Office, the complete investigation included 113 interviews of law enforcement personnel and public witnesses, review of 67 body worn camera and patrol in-unit videos, 30 surveillance and aircraft videos, hundreds of photographs, the collection of 637 items of evidence, location diagraming and forensic evaluation and testing of physical evidence.
Based on this review, the District Attorney's Office stated it is their legal opinion that there is a lack of evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved officers acted criminally during any of the four total shooting incidents. There is reliable evidence that each officers’ actions were reasonable, necessary and justified.
Accordingly, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has closed its inquiry into these four officer involved shooting incidents.
To view the full 43-page report, click here.
