LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County District Attorney’s office delivered its final report involving the officer-involved shooting earlier this year in Clearlake, finding that a Clearlake Police officer’s reason for firing his service gun was justified.
According to District Attorney Don Anderson, CP officer Jared Anthony Nixon’s actions were “justified in that he was acting in self-defense.”
The findings stem from an incident on the late morning of January 24, when Nixon shot eight rounds from his semi-automatic firearm toward a vehicle headed straight toward him at a high rate of speed.
Earlier that day, Nixon was investigating a series of stolen vehicles in the Clearlake Park area, commonly known as “Gobbie Desert.” The site has had a reputation for its use for illegally taking and stripping stolen cars.
The officer went on foot in the remote area of Oregon and Mint Street. Anderson explained that the roads in that immediate area are “very narrow and covered with trees and brush. It is possible, but not easily passible by vehicles.”
Once in that place, Nixon heard a car start up and back out and head onto Oregon Ave, with the front of the vehicle facing Nixon. The car was described as a stolen 1992 Honda Accord.
The car then turned its wheels toward the officer.
“Officer Nixon could see the driver looking directly at him and turning the vehicle in his direction in an attempt to hit him,” said Anderson. “The vehicle accelerated with the tires spinning and breaking traction. It was obvious to the officer that the driver of the vehicle was trying to hit him.”
As a result of the car’s speed and no place to get to safety in time, Nixon used his weapon to try and divert or distract the driver. It was later determined that one round entered the driver’s side bumper, three rounds entered the vehicle’s hood, and three others hit the front windshield. No bullets hit the side or back of the car, indicating that the officer did not fire again once his immediate safety was secured.
Later on that same day, the car was found abandoned on Sonoma Way, about one mile from the shooting scene. There were no suspects located in the area, Anderson said.
No arrests have been made at this time, he added, and the case remains under investigation.
During the investigation, it was found that Nixon’s testimony matched the activity collected by his body camera, local witnesses and other accumulated evidence.
“The officer believed the driver of the vehicle would inflict serious bodily injury on him or death,” said Anderson. “The officer’s fear that he would suffer great bodily harm or death, was reasonable in both his state of mind and in fact.”
