2 ex-Torrance police officers manslaughter charges dismissed over 2018 shooting

Voluntary manslaughter charges against two Torrance police officers were dismissed after a judge ruled in favor of the prosecutor's arguments, saying they could not prove the charges involving a 2018 shooting death beyond a "reasonable doubt."

Former officers Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon could have faced up to 11 years in prison if convicted for the killing of 23-year-old Christopher DeAndre Mitchell as he sat inside a reported-stolen parked car, with an air rifle.

Mitchell's mother, Sherilyn Haynes, was at the downtown Los Angeles courtroom hearing, saying the former officers should be held accountable for the death of her son, acting like "judge, jury, and executioner" when they shot Mitchell.

The officers were flagged down on Dec. 9, 2018, by a man who said his Honda Civic had been stolen. According to prosecutors, Mitchell was found in a supermarket parking lot, sitting inside a black Honda Civic that had been reported stolen, holding an air rifle.

Chavez and Concannon pulled into the parking lot and used their patrol car to block the Honda. They approached Mitchell in the car, and Concannon saw what he thought was a firearm, prosecutors said.

In all, three shots total were fired, one by Concannon and two by Chavez. Mitchell died from his injuries.

The case was reviewed by two previous Los Angeles District Attorneys, and the current District Attorney's Office found the prosecution "Cannot prove its case of voluntary manslaughter against these two officers beyond a reasonable doubt."

D.A. Nathan Hochman said the 12-second encounter was thoroughly analyzed.

"...Did these officers have a reasonable belief that they were in imminent peril by Mr. Mitchell at the moment he's lowering his hands towards the weapon, where he could have then grabbed the weapon and shot them?" he asked.

"This is a split-second decision. While the entire event is 12 seconds, the decision that they are making is taking place over one, two, or three seconds. And it's not just that we have to prove it, we have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest standard in the system," Hochman said.