California Department of Justice investigating fatal shooting by law enforcement officers in Hemet

The California Department of Justice is investigating a recent case in which local law enforcement officers fatally shot a man suspected of selling fentanyl in Hemet — marking the first time a new law providing state-level oversight of officer-involved shootings has been deployed in Riverside County.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the investigation Tuesday, a week after the shooting occurred. The announcement comes after the July 1, 2021, enactment of Assembly Bill 1506, which requires state prosecutors to investigate all officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed civilian in California.

The incident under investigation began at about 11:36 p.m. Jan. 18, as deputies and officers from a Riverside County gang task force were conducting surveillance of a suspected fentanyl distributor in the 2600 block of West Florida Avenue in Hemet.

Several deputies and officers attempted to contact the suspect, who fled on foot through a nearby parking lot before he was shot by officers from three law enforcement agencies: the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Hemet Police Department, and Riverside Police Department, according to a press release.

Officers and paramedics attempted life-saving measures on the suspect, whose identity has not been released, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect’s firearm was located at the scene, and there are no outstanding suspects, according to the sheriffs department.

The involved deputies and officers, whose names have not been released, were set to be placed on paid administrative leave, according to the sheriff's press release.

Upon the completion of the state's investigation, the case will be turned over to the California Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.

While the announcement marks the first investigation in Riverside County under AB 1506, several other investigations across the state have been launched in recent months, including one involving the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl in a Burlington store in Los Angeles.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: State DOJ investigating fatal shooting by law enforcement officers in Hemet