Trial underway for Danville officer accused of manslaughter

The trial for Andrew Hall, a Danville police officer accused of manslaughter in the shooting death three years ago of Laudemer Arboleda, began Monday in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Arboleda led police on a slow-speed chase through Danville on Nov. 3, 2018, after police repeatedly tried pulling him over, after residents called police reporting a suspicious person knocking on doors.

The incident ended at the intersection of Diablo Road and Front Street, with two police units behind Arboleda’s gray Honda Civic, and two in front, including Hall’s.

Arboleda was trying to pull between two police cars, when Hall opened fire at the front driver’s side of Arboleda’s car, hitting the Newark man nine times.

Hall has pleaded not guilty.

Danville contracts for police services through the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. A sheriff’s investigation after the 2018 incident cleared Hall of any wrongdoing.

The district attorney’s office announced it was pressing charges in the 2018 case after Hall was involved in a second shooting earlier this year.

On March 11, Hall responded to reports of a man throwing rocks onto Interstate Highway 680 from the Sycamore Valley Road overpass in Danville. Police have said the 32-year-old transient Tyrell Wilson approached Hall near the overpass with a folding knife and Hall shot him in self-defense. The shooting is still being investigated. The families of the deceased in both incidents said the men suffered from mental health issues.

The trial began at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Dept. 27 of Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez.

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