Jul. 23--The two Salinas police officers involved in the shooting that killed Maria Irma De la Torre received special training to help county law enforcement officials deal with mentally ill patients, said Salinas Police Chief Dan Ortega.
Officer Steven Mattocks, hired by the Salinas Police Department in July 2006, and officer Robert Balaoro, who has been with the department since January 2000, took the 32- to 40-hour "critical incident training" designed by Monterey County law enforcement agencies in 2000 to deal with potentially volatile situations involving people with mental health issues.
Mattocks and Balaoro said in their reports they saw De la Torre stabbing herself with what appeared to be a knife or an ice pick. When she came out of the mini-van where she was sitting, the officers said, she lunged at them with the object.
Family and neighbors who saw the incident dispute the accounts, saying De la Torre had nothing in her hands and walked out of the van in a non-threatening way.
De la Torre, 45, was known to have epilepsy, which is not considered a mental health issue.
"It's considered a medical condition," said Monterey neurologist David Huntley. "Psychiatry deals with mental health."
Questions about critical incident training were raised Friday by the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights organization known to question law enforcement procedures.
Flanked by De la Torre's husband, mother and sisters, LULAC representatives denounced
this week's shooting and urged Ortega to implement better training for his officers, including a return to the critical intervention program.
"The agreement was that crisis intervention would help in these situations," said Carlos Ramos, LULAC's community and government representative. "Tragically, this week, the commitment was broken."
De la Torre died early Sunday after being shot twice by Mattocks and shocked once by Balaoro with his Taser. Family members have said they called for an ambulance because De la Torre was having an epileptic seizure and needed medical attention.
The 911 tapes of the incident won't be available for media review because they are part of an ongoing investigation, said Lynn Diebold, director of emergency communications.
Past investigations
Salinas police investigators will take a few weeks to conclude their probe, and when it is completed, it will be forwarded to the Monterey County district attorney, Ortega said.
"A human life was lost and we take that very seriously," Ortega said. "We're going to investigate this as thoroughly as we investigate any other crime, like any other homicide. And that investigation is going to take time."
In the past, even when the district attorney has cleared his officers, Ortega has dismissed them for not following department procedure.
Such was the case in 2000, when an officer shot an unarmed man by accidentally pulling the trigger. The officer believed his finger was in the trigger guard. After a review of the incident, he was found in violation of departmental procedures and was fired, Ortega said.
The Monterey County district attorney has reviewed 22 shooting incidents by Monterey County law enforcement agencies since 1999. In none of the incidents have the officers been found criminally liable.
Officers identified
As part of the regular procedure, Ortega on Friday released the names of the two officers involved in the shooting.
"We always identify officers in these situations. It's a matter of timing when," he said. "It's the public's right to know. We like to keep it secret early on in the investigation."
Both officers remain on leave, Ortega said.
LULAC representatives from the Central Coast urged Ortega to implement better training for his officers.
Police officers "risk their lives every day to make our community safe," said Salinas resident Berna Maya. "But they need to know the difference between a seizure and someone attacking them. Let's move forward and get them better trained in medical emergencies."
The critical incident training was designed in 2000 by Monterey County law enforcement and mental health providers after Charles Vaughn Sr., a retired teacher, was shot to death by local law enforcement officials. In the wake of his death, the Monterey County Police Chiefs Association designed the new protocol tailored after a similar one in San Jose.
Claudia Melendez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or cmelendez@montereyherald.com.
Correction: Salinas Police Chief Dan Ortega said he disciplined an officer who shot an unnarmed man when he accidentally pulled the trigger. An article on Saturday incorrectly said the officer was fired.
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