Santa Barbara County DA’s Office determines lethal force justified in October officer-involved shooting

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.– The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office (SBCDAO) announced Tuesday that the fatal officer-involved shooting in Santa Maria in October of last year was "a justified use of force" and that the officer bears no state criminal liability.

The District Attorney's Office released a detailed report of their findings available here.

On Oct. 30, 2022, Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) Officer Alex Mandujano was on patrol when he encountered a man, later identified as 36-year-old Salvador Qual Meceda, inside of a trash enclosure at 741 S. Western Street in Santa Maria detail SBCDAO.

According to SBCDAO, Meceda removed a knife from his jacket pocket with one hand and wielded a metal file with the other while refusing to comply with SMPD Officer Mandujano's commands.

Meceda eventually ran northbound to an apartment building at 741 S. Western Street after arriving SMPD Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation verbally and deployed less-than-lethal rounds detail SBCDAO.

SBCDAO reports that Meceda then went upstairs at the apartment building where he then barricaded himself on a balcony for three hours while SMPD crisis negotiators attempted to convince him to surrender.

According to SBCDAO, after negotiations and the use of pepper ball munitions failed, Meceda used a small folding table to smash the window of an occupied apartment and during attempts to enter the apartment, SMPD Officer Erik Hesch fired a single shot that killed Meceda.

The SBCDAO determined that SMPD Officer Hesch was justified in his use of lethal force within the legal confines of Penal Code section 835a.