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Mistrial Declared In Andrew Hall Manslaughter Case; Officer Found Guilty Of Excessive Force

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Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Deputy – and contractually assigned Danville PD officer – Andrew Albert Hall has been found guilty of assault with a firearm in the fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda in Danville in 2018. A mistrial was declared in the manslaughter case against the officer.

Jurors could not come to a verdict on the manslaughter charge but did find him guilty of assault with a firearm.

Arboleda led police on a slow-speed chase through Danville on Nov. 3, 2018, after police attempted to pull him over, responding to resident’s calls of a suspicious person knocking on doors.

The incident came to an end at the intersection of Diablo Road and Front Street, with two police units behind Arboleda’s gray Honda Civic, and two in front, including Hall’s.

Arboleda was trying to pull between two police cars, investigators determined, when Hall opened fire on the front driver’s side of Arboleda’s car, hitting the Newark man nine times.

“Today’s guilty verdict holds accountable defendant Andrew Hall for his excessive use of force in the fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda,” wrote County District Attorney Diana Becton in a prepared release. “Deputy Hall’s actions were not only a crime, but they tarnished the badge and they harmed the reputation of all the good, hard working police officers that work for our community. My Office extends our condolences to the family of Mr. Arboleda. With regards to the voluntary manslaughter count, we will take the matter under review to determine the appropriate next steps.”

Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston provided a statement on the trial on the sheriff’s Facebook page.

He wrote: “Although I wish the jury had returned a not-guilty verdict on all counts, I respect their service. We ask our officers to make split-second decisions and many of the jurors understood that. I urge DA Becton not to retry this case. I also urge her to take down the posts on her reelection campaign social media where she touts this prosecution.”

The advocacy group Conscious Contra Costa also issued a statement following the verdict, which said in part, “Today we witnessed an historic ruling in support of police accountability in our county. A jury convicted Deputy Andrew Hall on one count of assault with a firearm, partially delivering long-awaited justice to Laudemer Arboleda, his grieving family, and the Danville community. Conscious Contra Costa is glad to see Andrew Hall be held partially accountable in this case of the unjustified and egregious killing of Laudemer Arboleda…”

27 COMMENTS

      • As someone who has had to make life or death decisions in seconds, I can tell you that it’s not easy. In this case, it may have not been the best shooting, but it was legitimate. 108RS

        • Maybe rushing toward the vehicle and shortening that decision window was not a good practice. Perhaps he could have emulated the other officers at the scene, ALL of the other officers at the scene, who had been in continuous pursuit and did escalate matters.

  1. Not exactly accountability for this cold-blooded killing, but hopefully it will take this criminal off our streets for a while. He’ll probably find work in Florida.

    • David,

      I’m not sure what crime he was convicted of, don’t recall “excessive use of force” in the penal code, maybe “use of force under color of authority”, he’ll be out very very soon. It was a mediocre shooting, I let a woman live who pointed a gun at me, I own her soul. 108RS

      • I’m not a officer and I’m not a gunslinger but from what I’ve read one officer was lucky he was not hit when Hall emptied a clip (is ten shots a clip?) at a moving car in a crossfire situation. I thought they opened fire simultaneously in a perceived threat situation. Anyway sounds like the jury thought so.

      • @Jeff – It is beyond horrifying that a peace officer — even one who has been put out to pasture — would contend that he “owns [a woman’s] soul” for NOT shooting her in the line of duty. Nobody can legally “own” another person — or any part of another person, including such person’s soul — in this country.

        I suppose your old boss, disgraced former sheriff Lee Bacca and his rogue disciples in the LACSD played by their own rules for decades with apparent impunity, so you wee just “a victim of your environment,” like so many other naïve organized crime foot soldiers.

        Luckily, we hold our law enforcement professionals to a standard of actual professionalism in these parts.

      • Hard to believe the “editor” of this publication would even post the ridiculously absurd, blow-hard rants of an obviously mentally unwell person such as “Jeff.” I know many of my comments that were completely innocuous compared to this we’re never posted.

  2. Until we find a better system, I respect the jury system. The jury found him guilt on a charge, so he’s guilty of that charge. I doubt his sentence will be a long one but I also believe he will find prison an unpleasant place to be for even a short period of time. But, prison is where he belongs for his guilty verdict.

  3. It is my understanding that our sheriff (not a witness) described Arboleda’s actions as attempted “murder” to the press before his officers (direct witnesses) had given their statements on the matter. So, there’s that.

  4. Campo,

    I’m sure you’re horrified, you are a woke individual. And, I never worked for Baca, I transferred up here and worked for Dick Rainey. And, I own her soul. 108RS

  5. $4.9 million CoCoCo payout for the first clusterf&%k, and the victim is still deceased. How much for the 2nd clusterf&%k, the second “justified” shooting? How much for the next one? I would have to say that words like “mediocre” and “legitimate” do not apply to Andrew Hall. He is an exceptional and illegitimate and deadly item on the expense ledger.

  6. Why didn’t the officer simply move to the side of the car, clearly the guy was just trying to get out of there and not hit the officer, seems like there’s better ways to deal with a fleeing suspect instead of shooting and killing him…

    • John, Things happen very fast at 25mph, life or death decisions, in this case the deputy fired his weapon. Several times new organizations have taken community members to officer weapons training facilities and the community members always fire their guns. 108RS

      • Jeff you’re such a tough man that own people’s souls (lol) why don’t you tell us what you’re real name is or are you too scared?
        108BS

          • We’ve been working around the clock so a note to both of you – people (we don’t know who Lateef is). Dial it down. We don’t brook threats or intimidation and no one is expecting anyone to post their address. It would be nice if everyone put on their big people’s pants and posted under their name but we know people are reticent. If you go and violate any of the basic rules of the Interweb your post will never see the light of day. Simple. Carry on.

  7. @Jeff – Wow. That was a LONG time ago. Rainey hung up his badge in the early 90s, so that makes you at least … well, your precise age is irrelevant; sounds like you’ve been out of the game since, well, years before I was old enough to buy to tobacco; and I’m solidly middle age! In any event, you’re probably not surprised to learn that the law enforcement vocation has evolved into a bona fide profession since your prime; violent crime has since plummeted, notwithstanding the recent uptick.

    I’m afraid your attempt to deride me as “woke” misses the mark (unlike Deputy Hall, who has at least twice proven himself an adept marksman…at point blank range when he brings a gun to a knife fight). On the contrary, “woke” connotes comfort with — and even enthusiasm for — government expansion.

    I vehemently oppose further government incursions into the affairs of private citizens and staunchly believer law enforcement exists to serve the public’s interest, not the state’s. Restraint, discretion and fidelity to constitutional limits are law enforcement officials’ most fundamental duties. Few transgressions are as egregious a breach of that duty than haphazardly assassinating a fleeing suspect (with nine rounds, no less) in a downtown neighborhood full of civilian bystanders in broad daylight. (Fortunately, the DA’s office and a jury of decent citizens unequivocally rejected Mr. Hall’s tacit impunity to kill at will under color of law.)

    Officials shooting civilians with impunity is the ultimate government overreach — even more so than preposterous than absurd claims of ownership over another’s soul.

    Which of us is actually “woke,” Deputy?

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