Lathrop Police Kill Man, 35, in Domestic Violence Call — State Now Investigating

A 35-year-old Lathrop man is dead after police opened fire while responding to a reported domestic violence call, and because he may not have been armed, California's Department of Justice is now leading the investigation into what happened. Authorities have identified him as Enrique Lozano of Lathrop.

The shooting happened at approximately 5:34 p.m. on August 27 on Pamela Court near Chandra Way, a residential stretch east of South Harlan Road and south of J Street, according to the State of California Department of Justice. Officers were dispatched to the neighborhood after a 911 call reporting domestic violence, and the encounter ended with police fatally shooting Lozano. As CBS News Sacramento reports, the reported domestic violence incident led directly to the fatal shooting, and the California DOJ has confirmed it will investigate.

Because authorities' initial account indicates Lozano may not have been armed, the case falls under California Assembly Bill 1506, a law enacted in 2020 and in effect since July 2021 that requires the state DOJ to independently investigate any officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian. That statute strips local prosecutors of sole authority over the review, shifting it instead to state officials in an effort to build public trust in how these cases are handled.

How the State's Investigation Works

The probe is being run by the DOJ's California Police Shooting Investigation Team, which was deployed after being notified by local police. Once that team completes its work, its findings will go to the Special Prosecutions Section within the DOJ's Criminal Law Division for an independent review of potential criminal liability. If prosecutors ultimately determine that charges against the involved officers are not warranted, state law requires the DOJ to publish a full written report laying out the facts, its legal analysis, the reasoning behind the charging decision, and any policy recommendations for the Lathrop Police Department.

Local police, meanwhile, are staying largely silent on specifics. In a statement reported by KION, the Lathrop Police Department said it cannot discuss evidence, witness accounts, or conclusions while the state's independent review is underway, citing the need to preserve the integrity of that process. That means details such as how many officers were involved, whether body-camera footage exists, or how many shots were fired have not been released.

A Young Department Facing a High-Profile Case

The scrutiny lands on a police force that is still relatively new to standing on its own. Lathrop Police became a fully independent municipal agency in July 2022, ending more than three decades of contracted coverage from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office that dated back to the city's incorporation, according to the City of Lathrop. City leaders created the standalone department to keep pace with Lathrop's rapid population growth.

This is not the department's first use of deadly force tied to a domestic violence call. In January 2024, Lathrop officers pursued and shot a 40-year-old domestic violence suspect who attempted to carjack a motorist on Interstate 5, according to CBS News Sacramento. That suspect survived after receiving medical treatment and was booked on multiple felony charges.

A Track Record of Long Waits for Answers

Families and communities waiting on findings in cases like Lozano's often face a long road. A June investigation by CalMatters found that the California DOJ takes an average of more than two years to resolve AB 1506 officer-involved shooting investigations, a delay the outlet attributed to a substantial statewide backlog of open cases. That timeline suggests any final determination in Lozano's death is likely a long way off.

In the meantime, state investigators are asking the public for help. The California DOJ has opened a dedicated phone line, (916) 210-2871, for anyone with information or evidence related to the August 27 incident. It is a standard step for the state's Police Shooting Investigation Team as it works to build out the full picture of what happened on Pamela Court.

The case echoes a separate, unrelated shooting Hoodline previously covered in neighboring Manteca, where police fatally shot a Lathrop resident after he rammed patrol cars outside an In-N-Out Burger. As with that case, the full circumstances of Lozano's death will likely take considerable time to come into public view.