Scott Castruita
Role at the time: Retired San Jose police sergeant and co-founder of Fugitive Watch
Statement summary
Scott Castruita, a retired San Jose police sergeant and co-founder of Fugitive Watch, told ABC7 that from the dashcam video he saw a man trying to get away and did not see an officer in danger. He said officers must be able to articulate that they feared for their lives and had no other option, and that he could not articulate that from the video.
“I didn't see an officer in danger. But again, you need to be able to articulate the fact that you feared for your life or the life of somebody else, and this was the only means that you had at your disposal to shoot the guy. I wouldn't be able to articulate that from the vehicles.”
Bay Area television report on Mendoza Hernández's account, with comment from a retired police sergeant who reviewed the dashcam video.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Reference point: whether the officers were justified in firing at Mendoza Hernández. Castruita says the video showed no officer in danger and that he could not articulate a justification for the shots, which criticizes the decision to fire, so we used Condemned. We did not use Mixed or conditional because his wish for body-camera footage, and the station's report that he left the final determination to the FBI, do not change the conclusion he drew from the video. Evidence: a reputable television report quoting him directly.