The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has completed its review of the officer-involved shooting which occurred on July 5, 2020. This incident started in the city of Pomona and concluded in the city of Chino, and involved the Pomona Police Department. The shooting was investigated by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
SYNOPSIS
On July 5, 2020, at about 6:03 pm, the Pomona Police Department received a call from an employee of the “Jack-In-The-Box” Restaurant at 2775 S. Reservoir Street, in the city of Pomona. An employee reported a white male in the restaurant’s parking lot pointed a gun at a Hispanic male.
While the police dispatch center spoke with the employee, a separate “911” call came in from Witness #1. This witness said he was driving on Reservoir Street when a male stopped in the middle of the street and pointed a gun at him. The event caused the witness to crash his vehicle into some bushes on the side of the road.
Pomona Police Dispatch alerted patrol officers about the calls they received concerning a man with a gun. Officers Manuel Rodriguez and Officer Matthew Mendoza, who were in the same patrol car, began responding to the call. Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez, who were in separate marked police cars, responded as well.
Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez arrived first at the location of Witness #1’s traffic collision. They were informed by Witness #1 that the suspect ran south on Reservoir Street.
While the Pomona Police Department was handling this call, the Chino Police Department began receiving 911 calls from multiple people reporting a white male was pointing a gun at people in the area of Reservoir Street and Riverside Drive in the city of Chino. This location is less than 1/2 mile south of the “Jack-In-The-Box” Restaurant and Witness #1’s crash scene.
Witness #2 was waiting to turn onto Riverside Drive from Reservoir Street when she saw a white male point a gun at her. The white male was about 30 feet from her vehicle and began approaching the driver’s side of her vehicle. He was saying something to her while continuing to point the gun in her direction.
When the male was about 6′ from her vehicle, Witness #2 turned her vehicle and accelerated onto Riverside Drive, because she believed the male would shoot her. When she did this, she heard something hit her vehicle. According to another motorist, the male had hit the side of Witness #2’s vehicle with the gun. Witness #2 later identified Matthew Blake Dixon in a lineup.
Shortly after Witness #2 had left the intersection, Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez approached the intersection. Both of the officers saw Mr. Dixon standing in the middle of the intersection, holding a gun in his right hand. The officers believed they were witnessing a carjacking in-progress as they saw Mr. Dixon attempting to grab at a pickup truck’s driver’s door.
Both officers stopped and exited their police cars. Sergeant Aguiar yelled twice at Mr. Dixon, “Hey, put it down!” Mr. Dixon looked at the officers and ran west on Riverside.
The officers pursued after Mr. Dixon, who ran into the business complex on the northwest corner of Reservoir Street and Riverside Drive. Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez parked and exited their patrol cars and continued pursuing after Mr. Dixon.
As Mr. Dixon fled from the officers, he ran between buildings and tried to hide in bushes and behind a dumpster. In doing so, Mr. Dixon lost one of his boots and his hat.
Mr. Dixon eventually crawled under a parked red semi-truck and trailer, parked at the loading dock of 12840 Reservoir Street, in the city of Chino.
About two minutes after Mr. Dixon hid under the semi-truck and trailer, Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgard Rodriguez walked past Mr. Dixon without noticing him.
Officers Mendoza and Manuel Rodriguez arrived on the scene to assist the officers in searching for Mr. Dixon. About one minute after their arrival, Officer Manuel Rodriguez saw Mr. Dixon peek out from the trailer’s south side, behind the rear tires. Officer Manuel Rodriguez ordered Mr. Dixon twice to show him his hands.
Mr. Dixon crawled out of the north side of the trailer and began walking away from where Officers Mendoza and Rodriguez were located. Officer Rodriguez used his radio to notify the other officers he had made contact with Mr. Dixon. Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgard Rodriguez ran towards the semi-truck and trailer from north of the dock area.
At 6:18 pm, Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez neared the north side of the truck and trailer when they saw Mr. Dixon. Mr. Dixon raised his gun in a two-handed grip and pointed it at the officers. The officers pointed their guns at Mr. Dixon, with Officer Edgar Rodriguez saying, “Aye, wait.” Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez were about 50 feet away when they fired their weapons at Mr. Dixon. Mr. Dixon began moving away from the officers. Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgard Rodriguez moved closer to Mr. Dixon.
Officers Mendoza and Manuel Rodriguez ran around the front of the semi-truck after hearing the gunfire. They stood near Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Edgar Rodriguez. Sergeant Aguiar, Officer Edgar Rodriguez, and Officer Manuel Rodriguez shouted to Mr. Dixon to drop his gun.
When Mr. Dixon appeared to be pointing his weapon at the officers again, Sergeant Aguiar and Officer Manuel Rodriguez fired at Mr. Dixon, causing him to fall onto his left side.
Additional police officers responded to the scene. Officer Ferdinand Salgado and Officer Shreef Erfan arrived on the scene and joined Sergeant Aguiar, Officer Edgar Rodriguez, Officer Manuel Rodriguez, and Officer Mendoza. The officers yelled commands to Mr. Dixon to show his hands to the officers, but Mr. Dixon did not move or say anything.
At 6:22 pm, the officers approached and handcuffed Mr. Dixon. Officer Salgado retrieved the weapon from under Mr. Dixon’s left hip and discovered it was an unloaded pellet gun.
At 6:34 pm, personnel from the Chino Valley Fire Department pronounced Mr. Dixon deceased.
CONCLUSION
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated this shooting. A review of the investigation, reports, evidence, and statements was completed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
Based on the facts presented in the reports and the applicable law, our office concluded Sergeant Rick Aguiar, Officer Edgar Rodriguez, and Officer Manuel Rodriguez’s use of lethal force was a proper exercise of their rights of self-defense and defense of others, and therefore their actions were legally justified.
WHAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW
By providing a thorough explanation to the community regarding the review of officer-involved shootings, it is the intention of District Attorney Jason Anderson and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office to maintain the community’s confidence and trust in its law enforcement officers and district attorney’s office.
Key Points of This Incident
- Mr. Dixon pointed a gun at different people.
- Mr. Dixon tried to enter a vehicle at an intersection while armed with a gun.
- Mr. Dixon refused to drop the gun when ordered to do so by police officers.
- Mr. Dixon ran into a business complex and hid from officers under a semi-truck and trailer.
- When discovered by the police, he tried to flee again.
- Mr. Dixon pointed his gun at approaching officers.
- The police officers shot Mr. Dixon to stop his dangerous behavior.
- Mr. Dixon was no longer a threat to the safety of the community.
Police officers are trained for dangerous situations such as this one, and they continually update their training as new situations and techniques are identified.
Additionally, police officers have equipment on their belts, vests, and vehicles, which they use to complete their duties.
Police officers are expected and authorized to use the equipment to protect themselves and others from suffering injuries or death. To some, watching a police officer using physical force against another person can be upsetting or disturbing.
Police officers prefer to use the least amount of force, whether it be their mere presence or verbal commands, to diffuse situations. However, there are situations, such as this incident, in which lethal force is necessary for the community and officer’s safety.
In rapidly tense situations, officers do not have a great deal of time planning, revising, or analyzing a situation, such as readers of this article. When a situation evolves, officers must make the best decisions possible to protect and save lives in a condensed amount of time.
The community expects that the people they call upon to protect them, which is law enforcement, will not back down, be intimidated, or run scared when danger presents itself.
On July 5, 2020, Mr. Dixon made the decision to arm himself with a pellet gun. Mr. Dixon decided to point his gun at people in the cities of Pomona and Chino. These people had done nothing aggressive to Mr. Dixon.
When confronted by police officers, Mr. Dixon made the decision to not comply with the police officers lawful orders to drop his weapon. Mr. Dixon decided to run from the police officers, while keeping the gun in his possession.
Mr. Dixon decided to run into a business complex and hide from the police officers. When discovered by the officers, Mr. Dixon chose not to listen to their orders. Mr. Dixon decided to flee from the officers.
Mr. Dixon saw officers approaching him. Mr. Dixon chose to point his gun at the police officer, using both his hands to hold the gun.
The officers fired their weapons to stop Mr. Dixon’s dangerous actions.
There is an extremely high probability this officer-involved-shooting would not have happened had the following occurred:
- Mr. Dixon did not use a pellet gun to simulate a real firearm while intimidating or threatening members of the community.
- Mr. Dixon had followed the lawful orders of the police officers.
- Mr. Dixon did not point the pellet gun towards the police officers.
THE OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING REVIEW UNIT
The district attorney’s office has always reviewed officer-involved shootings in San Bernardino County.
Upon taking office, District Attorney Jason Anderson wanted a dedicated team of trained and experienced deputy district attorneys and investigators to review these shootings and respond to the scene of shootings, which occurred in this instance.
Please visit SBCountyDA.org/ois to learn more about this team.
As the district attorney’s office, we realize the entire community is affected when force is used by the police, regardless of the situation or circumstances. Our responsibility is to ensure that all parties involved in cases such as the one involving Mr. Dixon acted lawfully.
ORIGINATING AGENCY NEWS RELEASE
View Pomona Police Department’s News Release
NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE
Daily Bulletin – Pomona Police Shooting Leaves One Dead in Chino
DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S PUBLIC RELEASE MEMORANDUM
View San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office Public Release Memorandum: Matthew Blake Dixon