Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by family of a man who was shot and killed by officer outside a 7-Eleven across from Marina High School

A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed against the city of Huntington Beach by a mother whose son was shot and killed by a police officer outside a 7-Eleven across the street from Marina High School.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton, in a written ruling released Tuesday, agreed with the city of Huntington Beach’s contention that their officer did not improperly detain or use excessive force against 27-year-old Dillan Tabares during a deadly encounter on Sept. 22, 2017.

The fatal police shooting drew widespread attention after a cell-phone video capturing the encounter taken by a witness spread quickly across social media. A month after Tabares’ death, police announced that he was believed to be responsible for the Sept. 19, 2017 beating death of 80-year-old Richard Darland, a Huntington Beach resident who had tried to hep Tabares get back on his feet.

Huntington Beach officials described the judge’s ruling throwing out the $20 million lawsuit as a “huge win” for the city and for taxpayers. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office previously determined that the actions of Officer Eric Esparza, who shot Tabares, were “reasonable and justified under the circumstances.”

“This dismissal not only speaks to the great work of our police officers, their training, and expertise, it also speaks to the great legal work we have been doing the past few years on cases like these,” said Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael E. Gates, who argued for the dismissal in federal court. “I am proud of our police officers and proud of my attorneys.”

The attorney who filed the case on behalf of Tabares’ mother could not be immediately reached for comment.

Several witnesses to the shooting told investigators that Tabares “looked out of it” and appeared to be under the influence of a drug while he was “shouting and arguing” with Esparza and ignoring the officer’s commands to stop walking toward him, according to a previously released Orange County District Attorney’s report. The officer used a Taser on Tabares, according to the DA report, to no apparent effect.

Cell phone video of the encounter showed Tabares walking toward the retreating officer, who had his weapon drawn. Tabares is shown punching the officer in the face, at which point the officer grabs Tabares and wrestles him onto the ground.

The video showed Tabares grabbing what would later turn out to be a black flashlight off the officer’s belt. The officer backed up several feet, the video showed, drew his gun and fired seven shots at Tabares.

In body-camera footage taken after the shooting, Esparza could be heard telling another officer that Tabares was “trying to take my gun.” DNA from Tabares was found on several items on the officer’s belt, including the grip of his pistol, according to the DA report, while a toxicology test found methamphetamine in his system.

In a civil rights lawsuit filed in May 2018 at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, attorneys for Tabares’ mother argued that the officer had no reason to detain or arrest Tabares, and used excessive force during the encounter. The judge disagreed.

“The Court finds that there are no genuine disputes of material fact that Esparza’s use of deadly force was objectively reasonable; a reasonable jury could not find liability as a matter of law,” Staton wrote.