District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis issued a shooting review letter to Police Chief William Lansdowne stating that no further action is anticipated regarding a police officer who shot a suspect during an on-foot pursuit.
The letter was issued as part of the joint protocol between the district attorney’s office and all San Diego law enforcement agencies, requiring the district attorney to conduct an independent assessment of the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force by law enforcement.
Under California law, peace officers may use deadly force to protect themselves from the threat of death or great bodily harm and to use reasonable force in making an arrest.
In the incident that occurred on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2006, San Diego Police Department Officers Michael Belz and Michael Fender responded to a battery incident at 7-Eleven, 4101 West Point Loma Blvd.
The officers learned that a transient, later recognized through videotape as Matthew Trace, a 36-year-old homeless man with prior arrests and/or convictions, had punched one of the clerks in the head.
Belz and Fender found Trace in the surrounding areas, but he refused to come with the officers and fled the scene. A lengthy foot chase ensued, during which Belz struck Trace with a collapsible baton and sprayed Trace in the face and mouth with pepper spray. Trace threatened Belz with a broken bottle multiple times and Belz eventually pulled the suspect down from a wooden fence.
Belz fell to the ground, and while attempting to get up, Trace hit him behind the ear with the broken bottle. Belz then fired a shot hitting Trace in the right leg above the knee. Trace was later apprehended at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant parking lot.
In her letter, Dumanis concluded that Belz had probable cause to believe that Trace had committed battery at the 7-Eleven. Trace was admittedly drunk, refused to obey commands and refused arrest, according to police. Belz’s decision to fire was deemed reasonable under the circumstances and his use of deadly force was justified, according to Dumanis. Belz will bear no criminal liability for his actions.
Trace was sentenced Monday, Jan. 8, in San Diego Superior Court to seven years in state prison for assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer, resisting an officer and battery.