D.A. Clears Officer in Fatal Shooting of Pacoima Man : Crime: Prosecutor says police had no choice when the 18-year-old rushed them, swinging a broomstick.

By LESLIE BERGER

Oct. 31, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has cleared a Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot an 18-year-old Pacoima man last year, saying in a report that his use of lethal force against Efrain Lopez “cannot be shown to be legally unreasonable.”

In declining to file criminal charges against Officer Neil Goldberg, the investigating prosecutor cited eyewitnesses who said Lopez kept advancing toward police, wildly swinging a broomstick, despite repeated orders to stop, baton strikes and, finally, repeated gunshots.

“Many of the civilian eyewitnesses we interviewed expressed some degree of dislike for the Los Angeles Police Department,” says the report by Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher A. Darden. “At the same time, however, they commended the officers’ conduct and have stated publicly, and in the media, that the officers acted reasonably and had no choice but to shoot Lopez.”

The 12-page report released Friday also concludes that even though a broomstick may seem to pose little threat to police armed with guns, it could inflict serious and even deadly injury when wielded in the “baseball-type swing” used by Lopez.

“The item cannot reasonably be deemed a weapon per se,” the report says. “Still, it is wood, and like any stick, if used inappropriately it has the capacity to severely injure or disable someone.”

The report goes on to note that “police officers are instructed that a baton blow to the head is lethal force.”

Lopez was killed last Nov. 9 after police were summoned to the 13000 block of Eustace Street about 1 a.m. Moments earlier, he had attacked his mother and several neighbors, declared he was both Jesus Christ and Satan, and threatened to kill his 10-month-old sibling.

Goldberg, 31, was among four Foothill Division patrol officers who responded to the calls, including one from Lopez’s mother, Santos Gallardo. The other officers were Ralph Gonzalez, Jeffrey Chang and Goldberg’s partner, Dean Gizzi.

Later, an autopsy found that Lopez’s blood contained a high level of the hallucinogenic drug PCP, which most law enforcement officials and some medical researchers say imparts extraordinary strength and bizarre behavior.

Nevertheless, the death--and the fact that Goldberg shot Lopez nine times--prompted an outcry from civil rights leaders, who questioned whether PCP was being used as an excuse for excessive force against minorities.

The shooting inspired a demonstration outside the Foothill Police Station by members of Pacoima’s large Latino community, and led to a private meeting between gang members, civic leaders and Police Chief Willie L. Williams. He deferred public comment to then-Police Commission President Jesse Brewer, who promised a thorough investigation.

The resulting report, a year later, says that Goldberg “had no alternative” but to shoot Lopez.

Neighbors who wrestled with Lopez until Goldberg and Gizzi arrived told investigators that he appeared unaffected by baton blows, and rushed at Goldberg with the broomstick saying, “Shoot me! Kill me!” even after the officer began firing.

The report included testimony from eyewitnesses. “He was given ample time to give up. That’s a fact,” said Norman Early Sr. “I’m not a great lover of the police, but he had ample time to surrender.”

“First time in my life I’ve been grateful to see a black-and-white,” said Karen Early, Norman’s sister-in-law. “If (the police) didn’t come when they did, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. They kept wrestling with the guy and he kept coming back.”