San Leandro Police/Facebook Jason Fletcher is an officer with the San Leandro Police Department who has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Steven Taylor.
Jason Fletcher is a San Leandro Police Officer who has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Steven Taylor at a Walmart in the California city on April 18, 2020. Taylor, a Black man, was reported to be a shoplifter and was holding a baseball bat before he was shot, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Fletcher used his Taser to stun Taylor and then fatally shot the 33-year-old while he was still feeling its effects.
After a four-month investigation, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced charges against the 49-year-old Fletcher at a press conference on September 2. Fletcher was charged with voluntary manslaughter. Fletcher is a 14-year veteran of the San Leandro Police Department, according to the district attorney’s office. He has been placed on administrative leave.
According to the complaint filed in court against Fletcher, the officer is accused of killing Taylor “unlawfully and without malice.” The criminal complaint says Fletcher, “acted upon sudden quarrel and heat of passion and in the mistaken and unreasonable belief that he and another person was in imminent danger of death and great bodily injury and in the mistaken and unreasonable belief that the immediate use of deadly force was necessary to defend against the danger.”
Here’s what you need to know about Officer Jason Fletcher:
1. Fletcher Shot Taylor 40 Seconds After Entering the Walmart & While Taylor Had ‘Clearly Experienced the Shock’ of a Taser, Investigators Say
FacebookSteven Taylor.
Fletcher was the first San Leandro officer to respond to the call to the Walmart on April 18 about 5 p.m., according to the probable cause statement filed in the case by Alameda County District Attorney’s office investigator Robert Chenault. According to the report, Fletcher and other officers were dispatched for a shoplifter holding a baseball bat. Taylor was accused of entering the store, taking an aluminum baseball bat and a tent and leaving without paying for the items, according to court documents. A store security officer stopped Taylor as he tried to leave and asked him to return the items, police said. According to the district attorney’s office:
The store security guard Danny Saephanh called 911 reporting the theft and possible robbery. Two SLPD units were dispatched to Walmart to investigate the theft. Officer Jason Fletcher was already in the vicinity of Walmart when he received the dispatch. As Officer Fletcher approached the front entrance on foot, he observed backup SLPD Officer Overton arrive at the Walmart parking lot.
Meanwhile, two different store customers approached Mr. Taylor and tried to help him. A female customer offered him several dollars, to which Mr. Taylor said no thank you. Store security told Mr. Taylor they had called the police and they were on the way. Mr. Taylor said he would wait for the police to arrive. Mr. Taylor waited near the shopping cart area and an older lady stood nearby.
Fletcher arrived at the store and spoke to Saephanah for 10 seconds, during which time the security guard told Fletcher it was not an armed robbery or an incident of someone brandishing a weapon, according to the criminal complaint. According to the complaint:
Security Guard Saephanh then pointed out Mr. Taylor standing next to the shopping carts. Officer Fletcher did not wait for his cover officer and immediately contacted Mr. Taylor in the shopping cart area. Officer Fletcher grabbed the bat with his left hand and attempted to take the bat from Mr. Taylor’s right hand. Officer Fletcher pulled out his service pistol at the same time he tried to take the bat from Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor pulled the bat from Officer Fletcher’s grasp and stepped away from Officer Fletcher. From a distance of approximately 17 feet, Officer Fletcher drew his taser with his left hand and pointed it at Mr. Taylor.
Officer Fletcher told Mr. Taylor to ‘drop the bat man, drop the bat.’ Officer Fletcher shot Mr. Taylor with his taser as he advanced towards Mr. Taylor. Officer Fletcher tased Mr. Taylor again, and Mr. Taylor clearly experienced the shock of the taser as he was leaning forward over his feet and stumbling forward. Mr. Taylor was struggling to remain standing as he pointed the bat at the ground. Mr. Taylor posed no threat of imminent deadly force or serious bodily injury to defendant Fletcher or anyone else in the store. Defendant Fletcher shot Mr. Taylor in the chest just as backup Officer Overton arrived in the store.
The district attorney’s office said Taylor dropped the bat and turned away from Fletcher and fell to the ground. He was later pronounced dead in the store. “From the time Officer Fletcher entered the store to the time he shot and killed Mr. Taylor less than 40 seconds elapsed,” prosecutors said.
The San Leandro Police released body camera and cell phone footage of the shooting in an April 22 briefing that can be watched below (warning – graphic content):
While prosecutors say Taylor was feeling the effects of the Taser when he was shot, San Leandro Police said in its press release on the incident that the stun gun “was not effective,” and Taylor “continued walking toward the officers,” before he was shot.
According to Taylor’s family, the victim suffered from mental health issues. His grandmother, Addie Kitchen, told KCBS Radio on August 7 at a protest calling for justice for her grandson, “He’s not the first homeless person they’ve run into and I know he’s not going to be the last, but I would hope and pray he’d be the last homeless person that was murdered by the San Leandro Police Department.” Kitchen said police should have done more to deescalate the situation.
2. Fletcher Faces 3 to 11 Years in California State Prison if Convicted of the Voluntary Manslaughter Charge, According to State Law
Fletcher could face a sentence of 3, 6 or 11 years in California state prison, according to the voluntary manslaughter law. He could also be sentenced to probation, according to the Shouse California Law Group.
Taylor’s family has been calling for charges against Fletcher since the shooting, saying he and other officers in the department are not trained to help someone in mental health crisis, CBS Bay Area reported. “The way our police should be reformed is to help people with mental illnesses; that when you call an officer on a Black person, it’s not going to end well,” his mother, Sharon Taylor, told the news station in June. Taylor’s family has not yet commented on the charges against Fletcher.
Fletcher could not be reached for comment by Heavy. Fletcher is scheduled to be arraigned on September 15, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. It is not clear if he will be taken into custody before that court appearance.
His attorney, Michael Rains, told ABC 7 News his client feared for his life and was defending himself from Taylor because he was armed with a bat. Rains told the news station, “You know the law doesn’t require officers, even in today’s day and age, to have their brains bashed out with a lethal instrument, which a baseball bat is.”
Rains told the San Francisco Chronicle he is “very, very disappointed” charges were filed. He told the newspaper the charges, “are undeserved and I am very confident that the jury hearing all the evidence in this case will acquit this officer in short order.”
3. Fletcher Has Been Accused of Excessive Force in At Least 2 Lawsuits Filed Against Him During His Career
Court DocumentsJason Fletcher was sued by a San Leandro women in 2007.
Fletcher has been sued at least twice for excessive force and civil rights violations in California federal court twice during his career as a San Leandro Police officer, according to online court records. In both cases, Fletcher was accused of using excessive force during arrests.
The first lawsuit was filed in 2007 by Lydia Pacheco-Cesena against Fletcher and another San Leandro officer, Anthony Morgan, according to court records. The department and city were also named as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Pacheco-Cesena was arrested in February 2007 on a public drunkenness charge. She said in the lawsuit there was no probable cause for her arrest. She accused Fletcher and Morgan of assaulting, striking and beating her in the face, arms, head and body, causing injuries. She said she was assaulted by the officers after they put her in the rear of their police car. The case was settled in 2008, but terms of the settlement weren’t made public.
The second lawsuit was filed by Barbara Silva, Bruce Hemphill and Matthew Hoy in 2009 against Fletcher and several other San Leandro police officers. According to the lawsuit complaint, San Leandro officers responded to Hemphill’s home, where Silva and Hoy were renting a room, in May 2009 after receiving a report someone had overdosed on drugs there. The report ended up being fraudulent, according to the lawsuit. During the incident, Silva, Hemphill and Hoy were detained and Officer Daniel Sellers shot and killed Silva’s dog, “Boo Boo,” after the dog entered a room the officer was in, according to the lawsuit. Silva, Hoy and Hemphill were not charged.
Hemphill accused Fletcher and another officer, Liaqua Khan, of body-slamming him onto the hood of a police car even though he was not resisting arrest, according to court documents. The case went to trial and a jury found in favor of Fletcher and the other defendants, court documents show.
4. He Has Been a San Leandro Officer Since 2006 & He Was Paid More Than $267,000 in 2019
Transparent CaliforniaJason Fletcher was paid more than $260,000 in 2019.
Fletcher has been a San Leandro Police Department officer since 2006, according to public records. In 2019, Fletcher was paid a total of $267,493.90, including benefits, according to Transparent California. His salary was $116,581.66 and he earned $31,672.08 and $22,312.26 in other pay, and benefits worth $96,927.90. Fletcher has made over $200,000 four times during his career. His base pay went up in 2019 from $114,325.00 the year before.
According to the East Bay Times, Fletcher began his law enforcement career in 1994 as a police officer with the University of California Berkeley Police Department. After eight years there, he joined the Fairfield Police Department in Solano County, the newspaper reports. He spent two years in Fairfield before joining the San Leandro Police Department, according to the East Bay Times.
Little else is known about Fletcher, who lives in Vacaville. The police department has not released any information about previous discipline or incidents involving Fletcher. His name was not made public by police and he was only identified after he was charged by the district attorney’s office.
San Leandro Police Chief Jeff Tudor said in a statement after charges were brought against his office, “As the Police Chief of San Leandro, I know the loss of Steven Taylor has deeply affected this community. Today, the District Attorney has charged Officer Jason Fletcher with voluntary manslaughter. It is important that we allow the judicial process to take its course. I will refer all questions to the District Attorney’s Office.”
5. The Alameda County District Attorney Said the Decision to Charge Fletcher in Taylor’s Shooting Death Was ‘Made After an Intensive Investigation’ & Is ‘Not a Decision Made Lightly, Nor Rashly’
FacebookSteven Taylor.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in a statement, “The decision to file the criminal complaint was made after an intensive investigation and thorough analysis of the evidence and the current law. The work of Police Officers is critical to the health, safety and well-being of our communities. Their job is one of the most demanding in our society, especially in these current challenging times. They are sworn to uphold and enforce the laws.
O’Malley added, “When there is use of force by a police officer that results in death, the District Attorney’s Office conducts an independent and thorough investigation of the facts. We are mandated to apply those facts to California law. The decision must be made based solely on the facts and the current law. Justice demands this process to be done in an unbiased and legally sound manner.”
The shooting was investigated by O’Malley’s office, according to a press release:
The District Attorney’s Critical Incident Review Team conducted an extensive investigation of this shooting. As is protocol, once the investigation was complete, there was a deep and thorough analysis of the facts and the current law, which was effective January 1, 2020. Pursuant to Penal Code Section 835a(a), the California Legislature declared that the authority to use physical force conferred on peace officers is a serious responsibility that shall be exercised judiciously and with respect for human rights and dignity and for the sanctity of every human life. It further set forth that in changing the law, the intent is that peace officers use deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life. The legislature declared officers shall use other available resources and techniques if reasonably safe and feasible to an objectively reasonable officer.
The district attorney’s office press release added, “Charging a police officer with voluntary manslaughter is not a decision that is made lightly, nor rashly. As with any homicide prosecution brought by the district attorney, the decision demands thoughtful deliberation and careful legal analysis.”
According to San Jose Mercury News and East Bay Times reporter David DeBolt, Fletcher is the first officer charged in a shooting in Alameda County since Johannes Mehserle. He was charged in January 2010 with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and voluntary manslaughter in the January 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant at a Bay Are Rapid Transit Authority station, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Mehserle, a BART Police officer, was accused of shooting the 22-year-old Grant, who was unarmed, in the back while another officer held him down, the newspaper reported. The incident was caught on video.
Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but not guilty of the more serious charges, and served a year of a two-year prison sentence, according to the Chronicle. The shooting was depicted in the 2013 movie “Fruitvale Station.”
It is the first time O’Malley, has prosecuted an officer in a shooting during her time as district attorney. She was elected in November 2010 and re-elected again in 2014 and 2018. According to KCBS, at least 40 people have been killed by police in Alameda County during O’Malley’s time as prosecutor.
O’Malley defeated civil rights attorney Pamela Price in 2018. Price said she was running to “hold police accountable and remove officers who are not serving the public, end mass incarceration, eliminate the death penalty and ensure that victims of crime receive the full justice they deserve,” according to Rockridge Patch. Price and others have accused O’Malley, who has been a prosecutor since 1984, of being too lenient on police.
In July 2020, O’Malley announced she would no longer accept campaign contributions from police unions, a criticism she had faced from Black Lives Matter protesters, according to the Mercury News.
Cat Brooks, of the Anti Police Terror Project, told the East Bay Times she was shocked by the decision to charge Fletcher, “Not because I don’t think the cop deserved to be charged. I never in a million years thought Nancy O’Malley would charge an officer because she never has, regardless of how egregious the murders were. I credit less the evolution of her ideology or heart. Without question, there’s no way you can look at the video and not see the cop violated the new use of force (statute). I don’t think she had a choice other than to charge this cop.”
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