Civil trial begins in fatal shooting of Marine veteran by Sanger police

Feb. 10--Nearly four years after Sanger police shot an unarmed man 11 times, a federal civil rights trial began Wednesday to determine whether three officers were justified in killing 46-year-old Charles "Charlie" Salinas, a Marine veteran with a history of alcoholism and mental illness, and a desire to die.

The trial in U.S. District Court in Fresno will give a rare glimpse into an officer-involved shooting. That's because a cellphone video taken by a bystander shows three officers with rifles shooting Salinas as he stood unarmed in a flower bed outside a Sanger business on Academy Avenue in June 2012.

The officers didn't know they had been videotaped when they gave their account of the shooting to investigators, court records say.

In court papers, the officers say they feared for their lives when they shot Salinas because he had called 911 and told police dispatch that he was armed with a 9mm handgun and two knives.

"When they get here, tell them to shoot me," Salinas had told the dispatcher.

In depositions, the officers say they shot Salinas after he went for something in his waistband and then lunged or charged at them.

Salinas' family, however, contends the officers' accounts conflict with the video.

Court records say the video shows officer Robert Pulkownik firing twice at Salinas with his bean-bag shotgun as he stood in a flower bed along Academy Avenue between 11th and 12th streets, next to an auto parts store. Officers Jason Boust, Angela Yambupah and Preston Little then immediately opened fire with AR-15 assault rifles. Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Joshua McCahill, who also responded to the call, pointed a gun at Salinas but never fired it. (McCahill is not being sued.)

Boust, Yambupah and Little are defendants in the civil trial that will decided by eight jurors in Judge Anthony Ishii's courtroom. In total, the three officers fired their rifles 22 times, court records say. Salinas was hit 11 times, including after he fell to the ground, the records say. Salinas died at the scene.

Salinas' sister, Esperanza Booke, is suing the city of Sanger and the four officers for violation of Salinas' civil rights, saying the officers' use of deadly force against an unarmed and mentally distraught man was unjustified, excessive and a callous disregard for human life. She is asking for unspecified damages.

Unlike recent fatal police shootings across America, Salinas' death didn't draw protests. His family, however, built a memorial for him in the flower bed. There is a photo of him as a Marine, decorated with flowers and mementos, including a portion of a medal that says "rifle sharpshooter." The flower garden has solar lights that illuminate the photo at night.

-- Return to ongoing trial coverage by Bee courts reporter Pablo Lopez.

Pablo Lopez: 559-441-6434, @beecourts

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