Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced charges Wednesday against sheriff's Deputy Andrew Hall for fatally shooting an unarmed man during a slow-speed police chase in November 2018.
Hall will be charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semi-automatic weapon, Becton said Wednesday during a news briefing. Both charges are felonies.
Becton's office also announced that a warrant has been signed for Hall's arrest. His bail is set at $220,000.
"We in law enforcement must conduct ourselves in a professional and lawful manner when interacting with the public," Becton said. "Officer Hall's actions underscored the need for a continued focus on de-escalation training and improved, coordinated responses to individuals that are suffering from mental illness."
While Becton's office has been investigating the killing for more than two years, more pressure was placed on her office to take action after Hall fatally shot a second man March 11.
In the 2018 shooting, Hall shot Newark resident Laudemer Arboleda, 33, nine times as Arboleda attempted to drive his vehicle between two police vehicles. Arboleda's family has since said he suffered from mental health issues.
Just after 11 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2018, several officers responded to reports that Arboleda rang the doorbell of a resident on Cottage Place and was loitering nearby.
Arboleda later drove away from the area and was briefly pulled over by officers before driving away when the officers exited their patrol car.
Hall, a sheriff's deputy assigned to the Danville Police Department, was not involved in the initial pursuit of Arboleda and stopped his patrol car in front of Arboleda's as he approached Front Street in Danville.
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After Hall shot him, officers found Arboleda unresponsive in his vehicle. He was later pronounced dead at 11:44 a.m. at San Ramon Valley Medical Center, according to Becton's office.
A subsequent internal investigation by the sheriff's office did not find Hall at fault, allowing him to return to active duty.
In a statement, the law firm of Rains, Lucia, Stern, St. Phalle and Silver -- which is representing Hall -- suggested that the charges are "suspect and overtly political" since the sheriff's office cleared Hall of any wrongdoing.
"We will vigorously defend Deputy Hall and also fight to ensure his constitutional right to due process in this environment," a spokesperson for the law firm said.
Hall has been on administrative leave since the most recent shooting, in which he shot and killed 32-year-old homeless Black man Tyrell Wilson during a confrontation at the southwest corner of the Sycamore Valley Road overpass of Interstate Highway 680.
Hall approached Wilson in the intersection, where Wilson was attempting to cross the street.
Body camera footage released Wednesday by the district attorney's office shows Wilson holding a shopping bag and, once he turns to face Hall, a pocket knife.
Hall ordered Wilson three times to drop the knife and fatally shot him when Wilson declined.
Becton said her office is still investigating the Wilson shooting and Wednesday's announcement of charges against Hall was based solely on the 2018 shooting of Arboleda.
Becton added that the investigation into Wilson's death is not likely to take as long as that of Arboleda because the district attorney's office modified the way in which it investigates officer-involved shootings last year from one-person investigations to a team of investigators.
The district attorney's office currently has 10 attorneys collaboratively investigating officer-involved shootings, according to Becton.
