Deputy Cleared in San Juan Capistrano Shooting

It was reasonable for an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy to shoot at knife-wielding suspect in a San Juan Capistrano incident almost two years ago to the day, the Orange County District Attorney concluded in a decision released today.

The report gives a rare, detailed account of an encounter with an armed suspect.

On Nov. 22, 2011, deputies were called to a home on Via San Carlos by a woman who reported her then-23-year-old son was a schizophrenic and threatening her with a knife.

When they arrived, deputies saw a man “shirtless, unkempt and had marks under his eyes,” says the DA’s report. The suspect, Bryan McCluey, was also holding a knife.

Deputies yelled for him to drop the knife, but instead, McCluey yelled, “Come and get me,” “the war’s on” and “come shoot me.”

McCluey reportedly ran back into the house where his mother, Lynn McCluey, was holed up in a bedroom, the report says. Deputies could hear her yell for help. They decided to enter.

Once in the house, deputies realized that both McClueys were upstairs. They asked Lynn if she could leave the bedroom on her own, and she responded no. She was afraid.

With deputies demanding louder and louder for Bryan McCluey to leave the room, they could hear Lynn McCluey scream. Sgt. Raymond Ulmer gave the go-ahead for deputies to enter the room.

Bryan McCluey headed toward deputies with his knife posed in his right hand. About 10 feet away, two deputies used their Tasers and Deputy John Gomez took two shots, striking Bryan McCluey in the left hand.

According to a statement Bryan McCluey gave deputies while hospitalized, he admitted to wielding a knife. In fact for him, it was normal.

“Yeah, people are always f-ing holding knives, dude,” he told deputies, according to the DA’s report.

Based on his statement and on those of the deputies at the scene, Lynn McCluey and neighbors who witnessed the events, the District Attorney’s office concluded Gomez committed no crime in the commission of his duties.

“A jury analyzing these facts would likely conclude that it was reasonable for Deputy Gomez to use the force that he did in this circumstance,” the DA report says. “There is significant evidence that Deputy Gomez acted reasonably under the circumstances.”