Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey Thursday absolved officers of criminal liability in the tragic shooting death of an apparently mentally disturbed 25-year-old Chico man last month.
An investigation by Chico police as to whether proper procedures were employed during the Saint Patrick’s Day death is ongoing.
Officers fired 16 rounds at Desmond Phillips that night, striking him 10 times. Ramsey said Phillips, who had earlier been struck by a Taser gun, rose up and charged at officers in a narrow hallway. Ramsey said Phillips was advancing and stabbing at officers with a piece of metal about a foot long as they retreated.
The killing of Phillips, who was African-American has raised questions of racial bias.
Ramsey played a series of excerpts off 9-1-1 calls from the dead man’s father, who had requested help when his son’s erratic behavior turned violent.
Ramsey said officers had little choice but to fire their weapons.
“Actions that in that confined space were dynamic and chaotic,” he said.
Ramsey said police, paramedics and firefighters had been called to the Phillips’ residence several times in recent months during reported outbursts by Desmond Phillips.
Ramsey said the Phillips’ family traced Desmond’s mental problems to a violent encounter with Sacramento police. Ramsey said Phillips was detained for psychological evaluation after he allegedly kneeled across a railroad track while apparently high on synthetic marijuana purchased from an unknown man outside a Sacramento liquor store. Phillips suffered apparent head trauma during and following a difficult arrest.
The family has called for an independent investigation.