No charges for officers who shot and killed gunman at Nipomo gas station
No charges will be filed against three officers who shot and killed a gunman at a Nipomo gas station in 2020, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday evening.
According to a news release, the office has concluded its independent review of the incident, in which Scott Cameron Huffman, 42, of Bakersfield, was fatally shot.
The District Attorney’s Office said after careful review, it has “determined law enforcement officers did not violate the law when they used deadly force” against Huffman after he opened fire at a Vons gas station parking lot on Aug. 21, 2020.
“Based upon a review of the sheriff’s final investigative report, and in keeping with the controlling legal principles, it is our legal opinion that there is a lack of evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt criminal fault on the part of the involved officers,” the District Attorney’s Office said in the release. “There is reliable evidence that each officers’ actions were reasonable, necessary and justified under the totality of the circumstances when they discharged their firearms shooting at Scott Huffman.”
As a result, the District Attorney’s Office said it would not pursue charges against the three involved officers: two SLO County Sheriff’s Office deputies and one California Highway Patrol officer.
District Attorney’s office releases report on deadly Nipomo shooting
According to the 26-page investigation report released Friday, Huffman drove up to the Tefft Street gas station around 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 21, 2020, exited his vehicle holding a black handgun and ran toward the gas station’s convenience store.
According to the report, a witness described Huffman as “yelling and laughing, like something crazy like you would see in a Joker movie.”
Upon seeing Huffman, a clerk inside the convenience store locked the front door; when Huffman could not enter the building, he fired several shots at the door and repeatedly attempted to get into the store.
Huffman then returned to his vehicle, reloaded his gun and then walked toward Tefft Street, firing 10 rounds into traffic, according to the report. At least two of those rounds hit a Cal Fire truck that was traveling westbound on Tefft Street at the time, according to the report.
Huffman then stopped at an SUV on the road and spoke to the woman inside, asking the name of her young son who was also in the vehicle. According to the report, he showed his handgun to the car’s occupants, removed either bullets or the magazine from the gun and put it in his pocket, and then allowed the vehicle to drive away.
Meanwhile, San Luis Obispo County deputies Daniel Weagle and Chelsea Stevenson, and CHP Officer Jason Jennings were dispatched to the scene for reports of shots fired, according to the report.
After allowing the SUV to drive away, Huffman wandered around the parking lot and then entered the convenience store after viewing someone else go in, according to the report. Once inside, he walked to the restroom, knocked on the door and said something to the effect of “Honey, it’s alright,” according to the report.
After kicking in a different door in the store, Huffman returned to the bathroom and fired three rounds into the door and entered. He then exited the store.
Outside, Weagle, Stevenson and Jennings had blockaded the store with their vehicles. When Huffman exited, Stevenson ordered him to put his hands in the air; according to the report, Huffman then approached Weagle’s position, raising his elbow and bringing his pistol to his hip. Weagle yelled for Huffman to put the gun down.
At 11:31 a.m., Weagle and Jennings each fired a round at Huffman, who fell forward onto the pavement, according to the report. As Huffman lifted his upper body off the pavement, the officers said they were unable to see the pistol, according to the report. Jennings fired two more rounds and Stevenson fired one round at Huffman, according to the report.
Additional officers arrived at the scene as the original trio of officers unsuccessfully attempted to make contact with Huffman, according to the report. At 12:10 p.m., officers “officers made contact with Huffman, who was deceased,” according to the report.
In their voluntary statements to investigators after the incident, the officers involved said they perceived Huffman as aggressive during the altercation and feared that he would begin shooting again. They also were unsure what had happened inside the convenience store and were concerned he had killed the people inside, according to the report.
“There were multiple people over by the gas pumps. There were multiple people in the roadway,” Weagle said in the report. “There were multiple people in the parking lots. … I thought he was gonna just start shooting people again. So, I made the decision to fire a round.”
Shooter said he had been ‘talking to God,’ witness told investigators
An autopsy Aug. 25 determined Huffman’s cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the torso: He had one superficial wound to the left shoulder and two in his left flank-rib area, according to the report.
A search of his home following the incident revealed “several firearms and a significant amount of firearm ammunition,” according to the report.
Huffman had no prior criminal history.
In interviews with family and friends following the shooting, several people noted that Huffman had in the two months leading up to Aug. 21 become fixated on religion, though all those interviewed said they would not have expected Huffman to become violent, according to the report.
According to the report, a woman who was in the vehicle with him immediately before the incident told investigators that Huffman had been “speaking in a way that was difficult for her to understand” and said he had been talking to God.
According to the report, Huffman pulled the gun from the center console after she said she needed to go to the bathroom and made comments about going to get her the bathroom key; he also asked what would happen if he politely asked the store clerks for money.
The woman said she attempted to stop him, and an argument ensued which ended in him getting out of the vehicle with the gun and approaching the convenience store, according to the report.
The woman fled the area after he left the car, according to the report.
Investigation concludes ‘no criminal culpability’ for officers
An investigation was launched into the incident, including the collection of 280 pieces of physical evidence, 75 interviews with civilian and law enforcement witnesses and a review of both patrol in-unit videos and surveillance and mobile phone videos, according to the report.
After the independent review, the District Attorney’s office concluded “there is no criminal culpability on the part of the involved peace officers in this shooting incident.”
“There is reliable evidence that each officers’ actions were reasonable, necessary and justified under the totality of the circumstances when they shot or shot at Scott Cameron Huffman on Aug. 21, 2020,” the report concluded.
This story was originally published May 28, 2022 at 9:49 AM.
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