A Modesto police officer’s shooting of a man who threw a book at him will go before a jury after a judge ruled Tuesday on a claim of excessive force.

The shooting occurred late on the night of Oct. 16, 2014. Police had been called to a home by a woman claiming her adult son was threatening her, said the account in the court record.

When officers arrived, the door was opened by a man who was holding his right hand behind his back. An officer twice asked the man to show his hands. The man threw an object underhand. The officer dodged the object, then straightened up and shot the man, who had stepped back into the house and was shutting the door.

Body cam video recorded the officer telling his partner: “He threw something at me.” The object turned out to be a hardcover book.

The man was shot once in the abdomen and suffered a broken rib and injury to his pancreas.

The defendants — the officer and the city of Modesto — argued that deadly force was justified, saying the man had “lunged” toward the officer and that the split-second decision to shoot was made before the man backed away.

The decision by District Judge Troy Nunley, however, said “a reasonable jury could conclude that [the man] did not pose an immediate threat” when the shot was fired.

It cited these factors:

  • Body cam video indicates the man was not lunging toward the officer but standing with his feet not moving, 6 to 10 feet from the officer, when he tossed the book.
  • There is no evidence that the officer believed the man was armed. He never stated that belief, and the officers had been told before they got to the house that there were no weapons there.
  • The officer fired his gun after dodging the thrown object.
  • The man was retreating and closing the door when he was shot.

The defendants’ request that the excessive force claim be disallowed was denied, allowing the suit to go before a jury. The judge did reject six other claims by the wounded man and the other residents of the home — his mother, his sister and five children.