California's Department of Justice has decided not to criminally charge the LAPD officer who fatally shot a Skid Row man found to be holding nothing more than a white plastic fork, in a case in which Los Angeles agreed to pay the family $5.8 million. Jason Maccani died in February 2024 after being shot once by Officer Caleb Garcia-Alamilla during a confrontation that began with a call about an armed man threatening employees at a downtown business.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that state investigators found insufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution of Garcia-Alamilla, according to MyNewsLA. The DOJ concluded that the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer lacked a reasonable belief deadly force was necessary to defend himself or a fellow officer from an imminent threat, per the same outlet. As CBS Los Angeles reported, Bonta acknowledged the incident caused grief for Maccani's family, the involved law enforcement agencies and the broader Los Angeles community.
How the Encounter Unfolded on Towne Avenue
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Central Division officers responded at 2:14 p.m. on February 3, 2024, to a radio call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon in the 600 block of Towne Avenue. CBS Los Angeles reported that the caller initially claimed Maccani was armed with a stick and threatening employees, but later told police he was unarmed and simply guarding the business door. Arriving officers reportedly found that Maccani had not hit anyone, and the DOJ report said scissors and shoes were the only items inside the business that could have been used as weapons, per CBS Los Angeles.
LAPD said Maccani initially began complying with officers' commands, but then turned and charged toward them with a white object protruding from his clenched right hand at chest level, according to the department's account. Officers fired multiple 40mm rounds and a less-lethal beanbag round at him, CBS Los Angeles reported. Investigators said Maccani then grabbed a female officer and her beanbag shotgun, pushed her against a wall, and held the sharp white object to her neck, per MyNewsLA.
One Shot, Then a Fatal Mistake Revealed
Garcia-Alamilla fired a single round that struck Maccani, according to CBS Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reported that the shot was fired at point-blank range and struck Maccani in his right arm before traveling into his chest. Maccani was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, per MyNewsLA. The object police initially believed was a knife was later determined to be a white plastic fork, according to the LAPD's own account of the shooting.
The shooting occurred on February 3, 2024, according to MyNewsLA, the LAPD and CBS Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Times reported that it occurred in February 2024. The Los Angeles Times also reported that Garcia-Alamilla is no longer employed by the department, though the paper did not say why he left or whether he remains in law enforcement elsewhere.
Family's Legal Fight and a $5.8 Million Settlement
In the weeks after the shooting, Maccani's family filed a damages claim against the city alleging that officers mishandled the confrontation, CBS Los Angeles reported. MyNewsLA reported that claim sought $20 million. The family went on to file a civil rights lawsuit against the city, and MyNewsLA reported that Los Angeles ultimately agreed to settle for $5.8 million, a figure also cited by the Los Angeles Times.
The DOJ's investigation was required under Assembly Bill 1506, a state law mandating investigation of all officer-involved shootings resulting in an unarmed civilian's death, according to CBS Los Angeles. California Legislative Information describes the law as requiring investigation and fact-gathering whenever a peace officer's shooting kills an unarmed civilian. Under the statute, DOJ investigators from the Attorney General's Office assumed prosecutorial oversight of the Maccani case, per the LAPD's newsroom release. MyNewsLA reported that the DOJ's investigation made no recommendations for changes to LAPD policies or practices.
A Pattern of Harmless Objects Mistaken for Weapons
The Maccani case is not an isolated one. The Guardian has reported that LAPD has repeatedly shot individuals holding ordinary objects that officers either mistook for weapons or claimed could be dangerous, citing cases involving cellphones, lighters, a bike part, a car part and a wooden board. The outlet also reported that in July 2022, LAPD officers shot Jermaine Petit, who was later acknowledged to have been unarmed and holding only a small metal car part.
The Guardian's reporting noted similar incidents beyond Los Angeles, including police in Denver shooting someone holding a marker, an officer in Columbus, Ohio, shooting someone holding a vape pen, and officers in Harford County, Maryland, killing someone holding a cane. The California DOJ has also declined criminal charges in at least one other officer-involved shooting, concluding in a separate case involving Abigail Lopez that the evidence did not support filing charges, according to a California Department of Justice press release.
