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The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office has announced a Friday hearing for the coroner’s inquest into the death of Tyrell Wilson, who was shot by former sheriff’s deputy Andrew Hall in Danville last year.
“The purpose of the inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving law enforcement, is to present the facts of the incident to a jury for their deliberation and finding on the manner of death,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday.
The jury in a coroner’s inquest is presented with four options when making its finding: accident, suicide, natural causes or at the hands of another person other than by accident.
The hearing announcement — more than a year after Wilson’s death — follows a high-profile trial that culminated in Hall being sentenced for the shooting death of another man in Danville more than two years before Wilson’s death. Hall was convicted of assault with a firearm in the 2018 death of Laudemer Arboleda when a jury found him guilty last October. Hall was fired as a result of his felony conviction and then sentenced to a six-year prison term in March.
Wilson, 33, was shot by Hall in March 2021 near the Sycamore Valley Road overpass above Interstate 680 in Danville on March 11, 2021, after police reported responding to calls of someone throwing rocks from the overpass. Wilson, a transient living outdoors near the overpass, was hospitalized in critical condition before succumbing to the single gunshot injury on March 17, 2021.
Hall was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, having been placed back on duty by Livingston following the 2018 shooting death of Arboleda. District Attorney Diana Becton announced criminal charges against Hall for Arboleda’s death in April 2021, a month after Wilson’s death.
While Hall was convicted on the assault charge brought by Becton’s office, the same jury deadlocked on a voluntary manslaughter charge that he also faced for Arboleda’s death.
In March, Wilson’s family agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with the county. Arboleda’s family was paid $4.9 million in a settlement agreement with the county last October. The two payouts resulted in Danville topping the list for liability costs among municipalities that contract with the sheriff’s office for police services, which have historically been low throughout the county.
Livingston, who beat out challenger Benjamin Therriault in the June primary election, was the subject of criticism for public statements supporting Hall following his conviction, and has himself launched criticism at Becton for bringing charges against Hall for Arboleda’s death. Becton also beat out challenger Mary Knox in June, leaving her and Livingston both in their respective positions for another four-year term.
Proceedings in the coroner’s inquest into Wilson’s death are set to kick off at 9 a.m. on Friday (July 22). The hearing will be held in-person at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez and will be open to the public.
“The jury in a coroner’s inquest is presented with four options when making its finding: accident, suicide, natural causes or at the hands of another person other than by accident.”
#4 obviously applies in this instance.
Of note…the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office is a department serving UNDER the supervision of the county Sheriff’s Department.
This in itself is a conflict of interest…the findings should be provided by an independent forensic investigation.
If the coroner’s findings come up with with something hokey like pre-existing medical conditions, it will be no different than the Minneapolis Police Department using the same alibi/excuse in the George Floyd public execution.
Upon review of the coroner’s findings, hopefully the Contra Costa County DA’s office will prosecute Officer Hall and ideally add a few more years to his prison sentence.
Though no amount of money will never bring Tyrell Wilson back, hopefully his family will find some solice with Officer Hall’s current incarceration and a potential monetary settlement with the Town of Danville for another wrongful police shooting.
@Joost stated the following:
“If the coroner’s findings come up with with something hokey like pre-existing medical conditions, it will be no different than the Minneapolis Police Department using the same alibi/excuse in the George Floyd public execution.”
With one exception, the Minneapolis Police Department never made such claim.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, who performed Floyd’s autopsy, testified that while the fentanyl and methamphetamine found in his system were listed as “significant” conditions on his autopsy report, he did not consider overdose to be his cause of death.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office is not associated with the Minneapolis Police Department.
Fortunately the Hennepin County ME report was inconsequential to the final verdict.
Justice was served though Chauvin’s sentence should have been longer.