Activists and victims' family members held a rally Friday afternoon outside the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in Martinez, protesting the early release of former Danville police officer Andrew Hall.
Hall was sentenced to six years in state prison in March 2022 for assault with a firearm in the killing of unarmed motorist Laudemer Arboleda in 2018.
Authorities said at the time that Hall had to spend at least 85% of his sentence -- 5.1 years -- in prison for being convicted of a violent felony.
"It's devastating. It's absolutely a shock. It's just devastating," said Jennifer Arboleda Leong, the victim's sister. "He's a convicted felon. He was supposed to do six years, and I don't understand why he's not doing six years or at least 85% of that."
Arboleda's family on Friday shared a notice of release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, saying Hall was being paroled from San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and his release date was Friday, though it also said that date could change by one or two days.
The notice didn't specify why Hall was being released. A message left for CDCR officials Friday morning wasn't immediately returned.
Hall shot and killed 33-year-old Arboleda at the end of a slow-speed police pursuit in Danville on Nov. 3, 2018.
Police pursued Arboleda after a resident reported Arboleda knocked on their door. Arboleda, whose family said he was hospitalized earlier that year for mental illness, pulled over multiple times, only to drive away from police. At one point, officers drew their guns without shooting as Arboleda drove away.
Hall was only involved at the end, when he pulled in front of Arboleda at Front and Diablo streets. Standing next to the car's front right side as the Newark resident tried pulling away at 6 mph, Hall shot his gun 10 times, hitting Arboleda nine times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Hall's lawyers said at the time that he was only trying to protect himself from an oncoming vehicle. Bodycam footage showed many of the shots came from the vehicle's passenger side as Arboleda tried driving away. The car ended up crossing Diablo Road and colliding with an oncoming car.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, which contracts with Danville for police services, cleared Hall of wrongdoing in its initial investigation.
Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston applauded Hall's release.
"We welcome officer Hall's release because he never should have been in prison in the first place," Livingston said in a statement. "He made a split-second decision to protect his life and the lives of others around him when he was required to use deadly force on Arboleda. Officer Hall reacted to a crazed driver who tried to ram through a police barricade.
"It's time we stop feeling sympathy for dangerous criminals and start supporting law-abiding Contra Costa residents and the warriors that defend them," Livingston said.
Charges weren't filed in the Arboleda case until Hall made news again in March 2021 by shooting and killing 32-year-old transient Tyrell Wilson near the Sycamore Valley Road overpass of Interstate 680. Bodycam video showed Wilson approaching Hall with a knife. Hall wasn't charged in Wilson's death, which wasn't used against Hall during his trial
The 1 p.m. rally at the sheriff's office was organized by Arboleda's family and local activists.
"He was my younger brother. He was my best friend. He was a great uncle to my kids and we do miss him very much," Leong said.
