A Los Angeles County sheriff\u2019s deputy who shot a man in the back in 2021 will not face criminal charges, according to records made public by the district attorney\u2019s office late last month.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles County prosecutors found there was \u201cinsufficient evidence\u201d to prove Deputy Yen Liu was not acting in lawful self-defense when he shot Adrian Abelar at a Rosemead auto body shop four years ago, firing a round that fractured several vertebrae and nearly paralyzed him, according to court records and Abelar\u2019s attorney. <\/p>\n
Abelar, 29, had just thrown a gun from the car and was face down on the pavement when Liu opened fire at point blank range, according to body-worn-camera footage. Deputies were responding to reports that Abelar \u2014 a convicted felon who could not legally possess a firearm \u2014 had threatened to shoot several people at the auto body shop. <\/p>\n
But when Liu and two other deputies arrived at the scene, they found Abelar sitting calmly in his car. The deputies approached Abelar, who lied about the fact that he was on probation. Abelar said he decided to flee because he feared if deputies found him with a gun, they would arrest him or kill him.<\/p>\n
Abelar said he tossed the weapon as soon as he got out of the car. In video from the incident, deputies can be heard shouting, \u201cGun!\u201d right before Liu closes in on Abelar, whose right arm is clearly outstretched and empty at the time Liu opens fire. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, prosecutors decided the reported threats made by Abelar and the fact that he was in possession of a gun precluded them from charging the deputy. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince one reasonable interpretation of the evidence leads to the conclusion that Liu acted in response to an apparent danger, insufficient evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Liu did not act in self-defense when he shot Abelar in the back,\u201d prosecutors wrote in a 10-page declination memo made public in late July.<\/p>\n
Abelar\u2019s case gained renewed attention in late 2023, when high-ranking members of then-Dist. Atty. George Gasc\u00f3n\u2019s administration became concerned<\/a> with the amount of time it was taking the sheriff\u2019s department to complete its investigation of the shooting. There were only four other cases since 2013 in which more than two years elapsed between a deputy-involved shooting and a charging decision being made by prosecutors, according to a 2021 report by the L.A. County Office of the Inspector General<\/a>. Such delays, the report said, reduce the chances of a successful prosecution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe D.A.\u2019s office bent over backward to claim they can\u2019t prove a criminal violation … they clearly can and don\u2019t want to,\u201d said Abelar\u2019s civil attorney, Thomas Beck. He claimed the investigation was \u201cpurposefully stalled for more than two years.\u201d <\/p>\n Liu has returned to active duty and is assigned to the Temple Station, where he worked when the shooting occurred, according to Nicole Nishida, a sheriff\u2019s department spokeswoman. An internal review to determine whether or not Liu violated department policy has been launched, Nishida said. <\/p>\n Use-of-force experts who reviewed footage in the case previously told The Times that Liu\u2019s decision to shoot was problematic. <\/p>\n \u201cThe guy clearly does not have a weapon in his hand and the deputy who is on top of him draws his firearm, jams it in the guy\u2019s back and fires it immediately upon contact,\u201d said Ed Obayashi, a lawyer and former Plumas County sheriff\u2019s deputy who advises police departments throughout California about use-of-force incidents.<\/p>\n Abelar\u2019s lawyer disputed claims made by Richard Doktor, the auto body shop owner, who summoned deputies to the scene by claiming Abelar had made threats and brandished a gun.<\/p>\n