DA: After reviewing Hayward's murder, no charges are warranted against police

After a 21-month investigation, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office said no criminal charges were warranted against Hayward police in connection with a fatal shooting in 2018.

The decision upheld a 2019 finding by District Attorney Pamela Price's predecessor, who cleared officers Phillip Wooley and Michael Clark of any wrongdoing in the killing of Agustin Gonsalez.

Price announced in January 2023 that her office would create a new office, the Public Accountability Unit, to reopen the cases of eight deaths involving law enforcement, including Gonsalez's death.

“The PAU has concluded that neither Officer Wooley nor Officer Clark can be held criminally liable for their actions,” prosecutors said in a news release Friday.

“Applying applicable law to the relevant facts, our team does not believe the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shots fired by Officer Wooley or Officer Clark were not fired in lawful self-defense.”

The creation of the Public Accountability Unit followed Price's promises during her campaign leading to her election in November 2022.

“I promised accountability,” Price said at the time. “This unit and its work are the beginning of the reckoning that Alameda County has demanded to hold people accountable for their wrongdoing.”

Price, the first black woman to serve as the county's top prosecutor, is the target of a recall effort amid allegations that her progressive reform program was too soft on criminals and led to increased crime. She is the first district attorney in the county's history to face recall.

Gonsalez, 29, of Lathrop, was shot by Hayward police on Nov. 15, 2018, responding to a report of a man brandishing a knife in the 24600 block of Oneil Avenue.

When three officers arrived at the scene, they found Gonsalez standing in the street, according to police.

An officer got out of his car and, from about 10 to 15 feet away, ordered Gonsalez to drop the object in his hand, police said. The officer repeated these commands as Gonsalez approached him with an object in his right hand.

According to police, two officers fired their weapons multiple times as Gonsalez continued to approach the officer from an unsafe distance.

After arresting Gonsalez, officers were able to determine that the item in his hand was a razor blade and not a knife as originally reported in a 911 call, police said.

Gonsalez was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital where he died.

The Hayward City Council approved a $3.3 million settlement with Gonsalez's family in March 2021.

“The PAU thoroughly reviewed all facts and materials considered by the previous administration's Officer Involved Shooting Team, including, but not limited to, all body-worn camera footage, investigative reports, civilian witness statements and operational records,” Price's office said.

The unit also reviewed the deposition submitted by Wooley in the civil case against the city of Hayward and retained Ian Adams, an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina, to advise on the case.

The PAU said its investigation examined how officers' tactical decisions may have impacted the situation or escalated the situation.

Price said in a letter to Hayward Police Chief Bryan Matthews that officers' tactical errors in the shooting and training by Hayward police “may have contributed to Gonsalez's death” and are “important to consider in order to prevent future tragedies.” impede”. in Hayward and possibly throughout Alameda County.”