Siskiyou County, Calif. — 13 officers involved in the fatal shooting of a northern California man have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Authorities say 23-year-old Matthew Graham was shot and killed following a car chase – after he was suspected of carjacking a couple in Shasta Lake City back in July of last year.
After a satellite tracked the vehicle to a home in Dunsmuir a K-9 unit caught Graham’s scent and tracked it to a nearby garage. That’s when, according to Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus, Graham stood up and reached for a gun in his waistband and was shot by officers.
Andrus goes on to say quote “the strong suspicion that graham was armed with a firearm… coupled with the action of reaching toward his waistband.. together provide exceptionally strong evidence that the officers’ decisions to use deadly force was not only permissible but the only prudent course of action.”
Graham was wanted as a person-of-interest in the disappearance of his 6-month-old daughter Ember Graham earlier that month. Ember is still missing.
Read the full statement from County of Siskiyou Office of the District Attorney
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