The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office has determined there was no criminal liability on the part of Concord police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 47-year-old Nathan Lee Keesler. The incident, which transpired on February 18, was thoroughly investigated, culminating in a report that clears the officers of wrongdoing. This conclusion is drawn from the principle that officers acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others while confronting Keesler.
As reported on the District Attorney's website, a 911 call from Keesler’s mother alerted Concord Police to a violent altercation between Keesler and his father. The caller stated her son was stabbing his father and disclosed a history of mental illnesses that had previously led to psychiatric care. Police arriving at the scene were confronted with Keesler, knife in hand, in the process of attacking his father.
Despite the officers' commands for Keesler to drop the weapon, he persisted in his aggression, prompting an officer to discharge his service weapon in a sequence of events that ultimately resulted in Keesler's death. The report meticulously details the encounter, noting Keesler's refusal to relinquish the knife and subsequent efforts to injure an officer, which led other police personnel to open fire.
Noteworthy in the district attorney's report is the tragic collateral damage sustained by Nathan Keesler's father, who survived the ordeal with multiple injuries. He sustained cuts and a gunshot wound accidentally inflicted due to his proximity to his son during the shooting. Emergency personnel declared Nathan Keesler deceased at the scene, while his father received medical evaluation for his injuries.
District Attorney Diana Becton, addressing the outcome of the review, shared, “My pledge to the people of Contra Costa County has always been to prioritize public safety, transparency, and accountability," underscoring the commitment to transparency the report represents. The necessity of such investigations serves both the public's expectation for accountability and the need to appraise each violent encounter on its unique merits.
Advocating transparency, the District Attorney's Office made the report available to the Keesler family, the Concord Police Department, the office of state Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the public via their website.
