Calif. DA: Fatal OIS Was Self Defense

The fatal officer-involved shooting of a Vallejo man in September outside his sisters' home was a case of self-defense, the Solano County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

The controversial shooting's external investigation, standard procedure for the Vallejo Police Department and district attorney's office, was given priority over a string of other officer-involved shootings, at the urging of the Vallejo City Council.

Wednesday's report to Vallejo Police Chief Joseph Kreins sheds new light on some of the details of the shooting. It notes, for instance, that Mario Romero's toxicology report indicated he was under the influence of both alcohol and methamphetamines. It also reported that one of the officers apparently handled the bloodied replica gun after the shooting without wearing gloves.

Romero, 23, was reportedly shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, when he allegedly got out of his car and police believed he was reaching for a weapon that they said later turned out to be a pellet gun.

Read the full Times-Herald story.