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Daly City wants AG's help in investigating fatal shooting of Black man
Daly City announced Tuesday it is asking for the state's help to investigate the fatal police shooting of Roger Cornelius Allen.
DALY CITY, Calif. - Daly City announced Thursday that it has hired Jordan Consulting and Investigations, a firm run by former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan, to investigate a fatal police shooting from earlier this year.
On April 7, Daly City police fatally shot San Francisco resident Roger Cornelius Allen following a struggle over what turned out to be a replica gun.
The consulting firm will review the police department's policies, such as ones around the use of force and how the department communicates with the public following those cases.
According to the Police Department's use of force policy posted online, officers may use deadly force "only as a last resort when reasonable alternatives have been exhausted or are not feasible to protect the safety of the public and police officers."
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Officers are also required to give a verbal warning before any deadly use of force and to report the incident afterward, explaining why they believed the use of force was reasonable.
San Mateo County's District Attorney's Office is leading an investigation to determine whether officers acted within the law. At the time of the shooting, police were not equipped with body cameras, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Prosecution of the Daly City officer who killed Allen seems unlikely.
Historically, Wagstaffe has declined to charge police officers for their killings. In 2020, the Half Moon Bay Review said that over the course of Wagstaffe's tenure as San Mateo County's District Attorney, he charged a total of zero police officers for their use of force causing injury or death, 52 officers in total.
In early May, the city approved the purchase of body and vehicle cameras for the Police Department. Officers are receiving training and will begin using the equipment in the next few months.
Later in May, City Attorney Rose Zimmerman asked the office of state Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate the shooting. Bonta declined since the District Attorney's office is already investigating and the city had planned to hire an independent expert.
Daly City Police Department policies are available to view online by clicking here.