The fatal shooting of a Springfield man by law enforcement has been deemed justified by the Lane County D.A.
After a September 6th standoff with Lane County Sheriff’s deputies at his residence, 59-year-old Robert Gutierrez was shot several times by deputy Zachary LaFoca, who was in an armored vehicle.
Officers had arrived in response to calls of a domestic dispute, with the caller saying Gutierrez was intoxicated, threatening relatives with a .22 caliber handgun, and had alluded to “suicide by cop” several times. After raising his gun at the armored vehicle a second time, Gutierrez was fired upon with an AR-15. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
No video footage was available, as Lane County Sheriff personnel don’t wear bodycams. Nor was there surveillance video available on the property.
The incident sparked a protest in Eugene this Saturday, with roughly three dozen activists denouncing, “the annual execution of community members” and holding up signs and banners reading, "Justice for Robert Gutierrez."
Copyright 2021, KLCC.