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An Alameda County judge on Friday agreed to dismiss a case against former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher, who was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Steven Taylor five years ago.
“It is an absolute truth that the loss of Steven Taylor’s life is a tragedy,” District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said in a statement. “However, this office cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed.”
On April 18, 2020, Fletcher responded to reports of a shoplifter at a Walmart in San Leandro. Fletcher had been inside the store for less than 15 seconds when he drew his firearm on Steven Taylor, who was holding a baseball bat.
Fletcher unsuccessfully attempted to forcibly remove the bat from Taylor’s grasp, then held Taylor at gunpoint from about 15 feet away until Taylor allegedly took several steps forward and Fletcher fatally shot him in the chest.
Fletcher was charged with voluntary manslaughter five months later by then-DA Nancy O’Malley – it was the first time O’Malley’s office had ever charged a law enforcement officer over a fatal shooting on duty.
But years of delays ensued with subsequent DA Pamela Price being recused from the case over alleged bias.
After Price’s recall from office, the case returned to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in September under Jones Dickson, who was appointed earlier this year.
Jones Dickson’s office announced earlier this week that she would be requesting for the case to be dropped, saying in a statement that a decision was reached based “purely on a meticulous, objective evaluation of the evidence and the applicable law”.
During a review of the case, the DA’s Office discovered that exculpatory evidence was allegedly withheld from the defense by prosecutors under Price’s administration. Previous prosecutors had consulted two expert witnesses who concluded that Fletcher acted in self-defense.
“The expert statements and reports are profoundly exculpatory and were withheld from the defense,” Jones Dickson said. “Furthermore, the defense’s own expert reached the same conclusion: justified homicide.”
Additionally, the judge overseeing the preliminary hearing in 2021 found that the evidence in the case was weak, and he did not believe a jury would find Fletcher guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
While Jones Dickson acknowledged the pain caused to Taylor’s family, she stood by her decision to drop the case.
“It is my solemn obligation to evaluate the facts before us now,” she said. “Those facts, including the statements from civilian witnesses, expert opinions, and the ethical failures that tainted this case, are simply not sufficient to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The San Leandro Police Officers’ Association union expressed gratitude that the case was dropped.
“From the beginning, the Association has maintained confidence that the facts and the law would ultimately vindicate Officer Fletcher,” the union said in a statement after Friday’s dismissal of the case. “Today’s decision brings long-awaited closure and relief to those who have stood by him during these challenging years.”
– Story by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News Service
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