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Prosecutors Say Fatal Officer Involved Shooting In Santa Barbara County Justified

Prosecutors say that a fatal officer involved shooting in Santa Barbara County was justified.

Santa Barbara County prosecutors have been investigating the November, 2016 confrontation between Lompoc Police and Michael Giles which led to the man’s death.

Officers were called to the 1000 block of North H Street by reports of an intoxicated man refusing to leave a laundromat. Giles fled the building when officers arrived. It led to a short foot chase. At one point, he dropped to the ground. Officers say he then got up with a knife in his hand, and lunged at an officer, who opened fire. Giles was hit by two rounds, and died a short time later at a hospital.

Investigators say the officer acted reasonably in protecting himself. They noted that Giles had methamphetamine and other drugs in his system at the time of the fatal confrontation.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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