Overview
- The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which announced its decision Thursday, said it will not charge Officer Jason Valenzuela for killing Christian Diaz Rendon during a January home invasion call.
- County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Valenzuela reasonably believed there was an imminent threat based on reports of a bald gunman reloading and children being shot, a test that focuses on what the officer knew at the time.
- Body-camera and home videos show Valenzuela fired from outside through an open front door as Diaz restrained the intruder inside, contradicting the department’s first written summary, and the police chief later apologized.
- The office said its decision does not decide whether department policy was violated, which leaves space for any internal action and for the family’s $25 million notice of claim to move toward a lawsuit.
- The suspected intruder, Edgar Ledezma Garcia, is under indictment on charges including first-degree murder under Arizona’s felony-murder rule, which allows a murder charge when a death occurs during a dangerous felony.