TULARE, Calif. — The Tulare County District Attorney announced that on Wednesday a Grand Jury decided not to indict the Delano police officer involved in the deadly shooting of Arturo Ramirez in 2019.
On June 14, 2019 the Delano Police Department was assisting the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office with an investigation at the Best Western Hotel located at the intersection of Highway 99 and County Line Road in Delano.
During the investigation, one of the suspects, Ramirez attempted to evade officers by leaping out the second story hotel window onto the rear walkway. Ramirez began immediately running away from officers heading south along the rear walkway.
Corporal Michael Strand was one of two Delano officers providing security outside the hotel. According to the Grand Jury report, he fired 12 rounds towards Ramirez.
Ramirez, 24, was struck twice, once in the back and once grazing his arm, according to the report. The report stated Ramirez was unarmed at the time he was shot.
After an investigation by the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, the DA turned it over to the Grand Jury who determined not to indict.
The City of Delano responded to the indictment, saying it is still in the process of conducting an internal administrative investigation into the incident with the assistance of an independent third-party investigator.
Officer Strand remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of the administrative investigation.
A 23ABC investigation into the shooting revealed the City of Delano agreed to pay the family of Ramirez $2.3 million for “police wrongful death action” related to the shooting.
23ABC also learned more about Strand’s history as a law enforcement officer.
In 2015, Strand was involved in another deadly officer-involved shooting. The Kern County District Attorney’s Office investigated and determined the shooting was justified.
Strand has also been named in an excessive force lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California over an incident involving high school students headed to get permission slips for prom.
During the 2019 shooting, another officer-involved shooting took place between a Tulare County deputy and the second suspect, Alexis Resendez. Resendez suffered non-fatal injuries. The Tulare County DA's Office has determined that no criminal charges are appropriate against the deputy.
