No criminal charges will be filed against San Bernardino County deputies who gunned down 15-year-old Savannah Graziano as she followed a deputy’s orders to approach toward him.
Last week, the California Department of Justice released a report on the shooting, which took in place in Hesperia on September 27, 2022.
To briefly recap:
On Sept. 26, 2022, Anthony Graziano murdered his estranged wife Tracy Martinez and took off with their daughter Savannah Graziano. An Amber Alert was issued for Savannah and on the following day a chase ensued. Over the span of a 41-mile pursuit, shots were fired from the vehicle. Ultimately, both Anthony and Savannah Graziano were killed.
As noted by the Southern California News Group’s Brian Rokos, “The Department of Justice’s investigation did not conclude that Savannah Graziano fired on deputies but suggested she did.” Though not definitive, the report points to contemporaneous statements suggesting this may have been the case as well as a reenactments underscoring this possibility.
This editorial board has been particularly critical of the sheriff’s department for its handling of this case.
Based on the report, we would like to acknowledge one error in judgment of ours in past criticism of Sheriff Shannon Dicus. We previously wrote that Dicus was wrong to say, “Evidence suggests that Savannah Graziano was a participant in shooting at our deputies.” We apologize to the sheriff, as it appears there was indeed some evidence suggesting this.
Moving forward, are hopeful that this case serves as a basis for improvements in training and public disclosure moving forward.
The department, for example, failed to release footage of the fatal shooting for 18 months.
Deputies involved in the shooting also didn’t have body cameras and there weren’t dashboard cameras in patrol vehicles. As noted by the report, since the shooting, the department has moved forward on a body camera contract. This is a step in the right direction. Transparency matters in government and especially in critical incidents involving law enforcement.
The report also recommends additional training, citing opportunities for more orderly responses to the situation and actions that may have prevented Savannah’s death. The DOJ reports that the sheriff’s department has indeed implemented “on incident command and communications between ground units when using lethal force.”
We hope all lessons and recommendations are taken into consideration moving forward.
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