Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced Thursday afternoon that Paradise police officer Patrick Feaster will not face criminal charges in relation to a Thanksgiving Eve shooting of a suspected drunken driver, Andrew Thomas, as he exited the car after it rolled over.

The accident killed Darien Ehorn, 23, who Ramsey said was Thomas’ estranged wife.

Ramsey said the evidence strongly indicates the shooting, which left Thomas paralyzed, was unintentional. It was possibly negligent, but “not criminally so.”

While Feaster appears to have escaped criminal charges, Paradise Police Chief Gabriella Tazzari-Dineen noted he’s still facing an internal affairs investigation, which is expected to be completed in a few weeks. The results of the investigation and any discipline will not be made public.

Feaster is still on paid administration leave.

The video

Ramsey also released a graphic dash cam video which shows the accident and the shooting. The video, which is 6 minutes and 35 seconds long, starts out with Feaster up the Skyway from the Canteena bar. It shows Feaster pull out and begin to follow Thomas.

A few seconds later the video shows Thomas hit the median on Pearson Road at Black Olive Drive and roll the 4Runner.

After the accident Feaster can be seen walking to the front of his patrol car. A prone Ehorn is lying in the roadway between Feaster’s cruiser and Thomas’ 4Runner, which on its driver’s side door.

Thomas begins to climb out the passenger side window. Feaster pulls his gun and it fires, and Thomas drops back into the car.

The bullet hit Thomas in the lower neck, impacting his C7 and T1 vertebra and spine.

Ramsey said the video supports Feaster’s contention he didn’t intend to fire the gun and was surprised by its discharge. He said it shows Feaster flinching his head and stutter step after the gun has discharged in mid-stride.

However, Ramsey noted officers who the use the Glock Model 21C semi-automatic pistol are trained to index their finger along the barrel, until they are ready to fire.

Ramsey said Thursday Feaster couldn’t explain why his finger was on the trigger. But Feaster only fired the gun once and officers are trained to fire at least twice when they are intentionally trying to fire the gun, Ramsey said.

Ramsey said that while the video seems to suggest two shots were fired, investigators say that’s an optical illusion and only one round was discharged and one casing was found.

After the shot

Feaster holsters his weapon right after Thomas slumps back into the car.

The gun was pulled with the intention of preventing Thomas from fleeing. According to Ramsey after Thomas fell into the car, Feaster approached the car and told Thomas to get out.

Ramsey said Thomas then told the officer, “I can’t, you shot me.”

But Feaster, who didn’t see any blood, didn’t believe Thomas and still wasn’t sure he had shot the man, telling investigators he was in shock.

Next in the video, officers Manny Ayala and John Alvies arrive on the scene. They reportedly told investigators Feaster seemed confused. Neither was told of the possible shot.

Ramsey said that it wasn’t until after Cal Fire-Butte County firefighters got Thomas out of the car via the sunroof did it become apparent to Alvies there was “puncture wound of some kind.”

Ramsey said Alvies noted the amount blood was too much for an auto accident and he was set to go back to the Canteena to see if Thomas had been shot there.

It was then that Feaster told him, he didn’t think that he had, but it was possible he had shot Thomas on accident.

Ramsey said that it took police about 11 minutes to realize Thomas had been hit.

No charges filed

Ramsey said Feaster can’t be charged is that the penal code doesn’t allow for it.

He pointed to three possible sections of the law: PC 245 (assault with a firearm), PC 246 (discharge of a firearm at a occupied vehicle), and PC 246.3 (discharge of firearm in a grossly negligent manner.)

All of those require the prosecution prove the trigger was pulled wilfully or in circumstances in which the display of the gun was unreasonable, he said.

The law also says that an unintentional pulling of the trigger does not allow for criminal charges, as long as the gun was displayed in a legal and reasonable manner — like a law enforcement officer making a felony stop.

Ramsey also said there simply wasn’t enough evidence to prove criminal negligence.

Charges against Thomas

Ramsey said Thomas had a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent and will be facing driving under the influence/manslaughter charges at a later date.

Ramsey said they have enough evidence to prove he was the driver and that witnesses say they had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit.

The blood alcohol level of Ehorn has not come back, Ramsey said, but witnesses said she had been drinking a lot that night as well.