Durham DA clears officer in fatal shooting
The man who was fatally shot by Durham police last month struck an officer in the face and tried to take the officer's weapon during a struggle in the moments before he was killed, according to a preliminary report of the incident released Thursday by the city.
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Jimenez was among four officers who responded to a domestic call on Bevel Court. Hutchinson, 30, had thrown several items at his girlfriend and had smashed a television over his head and appeared "erratic and unpredictable" when Officers J.W. Lanier and E.I. Masnik arrived, Deberry said, citing evidence collected by the State Bureau of Investigation.
Lanier tried to keep Hutchinson away from his girlfriend in the garage of their home, and Hutchinson began to struggle with the two officers as they tried to handcuff him, Deberry said. By the time Jimenez and Officer B.L. Mouzon arrived at the scene, Hutchinson was grabbing for Lanier's gun, she said.
Lanier and Jimenez both ordered Hutchinson to let go of the gun several times, and Masnik tried to use her stun gun on Hutchinson, but it was ineffective, Deberry said.
"As the struggle continued, Officer Jimenez noted that Mr. Hutchinson had gained control of Officer Lanier's weapon. At which point, Officer Jimenez discharged his weapon multiple times," Deberry said.
"The evidence from this investigation establishes that a reasonable officer in Officer Jimenez's position would have believed that he and the other officers were in danger of imminent deadly physical force from Mr. Hutchinson," she said, adding that "the force used by Officer Jimenez was not excessive under the circumstances."
All four officers have been on administrative leave with pay since the shooting.
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