Contra Costa DA: Pittsburg police justified in fatal shooting of domestic violence suspect
PITTSBURG – A report by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office released Friday concluded that Pittsburg Police were justified in the deadly shooting of a man suspected in a domestic dispute last year.
According to the report (.pdf), no charges will be filed against Ofc. John Odell and Ofc. Greg Simpson, who shot Patrick Watkins during a confrontation on May 20, 2021.
"The concluding opinion determined the actions by the peace officers against Patrick Watkins was justified in the use of lethal force," District Attorney Diana Becton's office said Friday.
On that night, officers were called to an apartment complex on the 2300 block of Loveridge Road after a woman reported her ex-boyfriend was armed and trying to break into her apartment.
When police arrived, they found Watkins. According to prosecutors, the man ignored commands and walked up a stairwell toward the woman's home.
After officers followed the man up the stairwell, prosecutors said Watkins faced away from the officers and then turned towards them with a semiautomatic firearm.
Odell then fired three shots at the man before his weapon malfunctioned and dropped to a prone position, prosecutors said. Simpson, believing that his colleague was shot, fired two shots at Watkins.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy determined Watkins suffered two gunshot wounds during the incident. A toxicology report determined that Watkins had amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC in his system.
"Both officers acted with an actual and reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary in this incident to defend against an imminent threat of death or great bodily injury," the DA's office said.
According to prosecutors, Watkins' family and the California Attorney General's Office have been notified of the report.
