Police Officer Hugo Del Moral fired his 45-caliber handgun once
when he opened an apartment door and saw Louie Miranda, about three
feet away, in a fighting position with an 8-inch knife in his
hands.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Police Officer Hugo Del Moral fired his 45-caliber handgun once when he opened an apartment door and saw Louie Miranda, about three feet away, in a fighting position with an 8-inch knife in his hands.
According to a report filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Del Moral was holding a ballistic shield in his left hand and his Glock handgun in his right as he led three other officers toward the front door of an apartment where they knew at Miranda was barricaded, based on statements from the officers.
Miranda had spent roughly an hour alone in the home yelling at police from inside the apartment the night of Aug. 16, telling them to get out of there, to leave him alone. He refused to open the door or come out of the residence.
The longer police stayed and the closer they got, Miranda’s outbursts became more violent, as he used profanity and said something similar to “If you hit me, I’m gonna hit back,” according to police.
Officers arrived at the 181 Pierce Street apartment at 9:16pm, responding to a call that a man inside was lying in a pool of blood. Miranda’s sister in Hollister made the call to Gilroy police, after Miranda’s daughter contacted her and said she was concerned for her father’s safety. The girl, who lives in Texas with Miranda’s estranged wife, said Miranda told her he was standing in a pool of blood. Family members say Miranda was distraught over his recent break-up with his wife and inability to see his children.
Miranda and his brother were both evicted from the apartment last month, but their mother still lives there with a companion, his sister told police. The two hung out in the apartment that afternoon, but Miranda was left alone following an upsetting phone call from his wife.
He immediately began yelling at police when they arrived at the apartment. The first officers at the scene took cover and waited for more officers to arrive. They evacuated neighboring apartments. Eventually, five officers and one K9 team surrounded the two-story unit, while the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol re-routed traffic.
Miranda, who officers suspect was drunk and claimed he had been drinking all day, at one point tried to negotiate for a cigarette or for his daughter. He was heard yelling for his daughter to come downstairs, and police began to worry that there was someone else inside, and that Miranda or someone else was injured.
Sgt. Chad Gallacinao formed a four-man “contact team” that consisted of Del Moral with the shield, Officer Felix Figueroa with a pepper-ball launcher, Officer Andrew Viale with a rifle and Cpl. Erik Tiner, armed with a handgun. Tiner had a key to the apartment, and would act as a negotiator and be the one to take Miranda into custody.
When Tiner opened the door, Miranda tried to push it shut, the officers said. Tiner kicked the door, then fell back.
Del Moral, in the front of the group, saw Miranda almost directly inside the door.
“He saw (Miranda) in a fighting stance with a knife in his hand at waist level,” Detective John Marfia said after an interview with Del Moral, who “stated that he perceived this as a deadly threat against himself and the other officers. He stated he fired his weapon once at the suspect and then could see and hear (Miranda) being struck several times with the pepper-ball launcher.”
Miranda was struck with the pepper-ball launcher four times on the chest and stomach, and twice on the left arm.
He quickly jumped back behind some boxes underneath the staircase, just inside the doorway and to the officers’ right. Officers could see his head and legs, which had blood on them, and did not immediately know that Del Moral’s shot had missed.
Miranda stayed there several minutes, refusing to show both his hands at once, until Cpl. Hank Snow persuaded him that he would not be hurt if he surrendered peacefully.
Officers later found an 8-inch kitchen knife under the stairs where Miranda was hiding. They found blood on the walls, the floor, in the kitchen, and a bathtub full of what appeared to be bloody water in a bathroom upstairs.
A Gilroy Police Department investigation into the shooting is expected to conclude this week. Until then, Del Moral will remain on leave.
The other officers spent 24 hours on leave before returning to duty.
