RENO, Nev. (AP) — Two Reno police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a California man who drove a mini-van into a chicken wing festival on a crowded downtown street last Fourth of July weekend.
Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks said Thursday that not only were the officers justified, they should be praised as heroes who likely saved many lives.
Hicks says one of the officers opened fire, striking Raul Saavedra-Vargas four times in the chest as the mini-van barreled through a barrier and more than 100 people dove for cover last July 3.
The other officer jumped into the van and slammed it into park as it crashed into a vendor's both.
Hicks says Saavedra-Vargas was "potentially homicidal and highly intoxicated." His lengthy criminal history included evading a peace officer and three DUI convictions.
