Police identify Fresno man killed by officers in shootout. DOJ took over investigation
Fresno police on Tuesday identified the 29-year-old man killed by officers during a shootout who state investigators said may have no longer had a weapon in his hands when the cops shot him.
Roberto Corchado led police in a pursuit in northwest Fresno about 5 p.m. Saturday that ended with him firing upon officers in a busy retail area, police said.
The man fired multiple rounds into police cruisers and struck an officer once, who was apparently saved by a bulletproof vest, police said.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an announcement Monday that the Department of Justice would review the fatal encounter and provide an independent review under Assembly Bill 1506.
“Although there was reportedly an exchange of gunfire, preliminary investigation indicates that the decedent was not in possession of a deadly weapon at the time of the fatal shooting,” the announcement Monday said.
Fresno police have forwarded all questions about the case to the DOJ.
Corchado was familiar to police, having been arrested more than 20 times for numerous misdemeanors of evading an officer and drug possession charges, court records show.
His most serious charges included a 2015 felony of assault and false imprisonment with violence, records show. He also had charges in 2014 and last year of felony evading a police officer with reckless driving, and a felony charge of possessing drugs in jail, records show.
Police said two officers fired their service weapons at Corchado on Saturday. One officer has been on the force for four years and the other for six.
Officers tracked Corchado by using a helicopter and monitored him driving recklessly, speeding, cutting off other vehicles and running red lights, police said.
They used patrol cruisers to strike the suspect’s car, which spun out of control near Herndon and Ingram avenues, police said.
It was not immediately known how many shots were fired, police said.
“There’s evidence that the gun was fired; that (it) was in the suspect’s possession,” Deputy Chief Mindy Casto said Saturday. “There’s also evidence that the officer was actually struck by gunfire in his ballistic vest.
“However, because it is early in the investigation ... we’re still looking to confirm.”
It was not immediately clear if the man had a gun in his hand when he was shot.
Officers found spent shell casings and two guns in Corchado’s possession, police said.
AB 1506 requires state investigators with DOJ to look into every police shooting of an unarmed person. The Corchado case is the second killing by a Fresno officer the DOJ has looked into since the law was signed in 2020.
The DOJ has an open investigation related to the killing of Austin Flores, who was shot on May 19 after brandishing a replica handgun near officers, police said.
