By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• The Orange County District Attorney’s office concluded that a Fullerton, Calif., police corporal was justified in using beanbag rounds that resulted in a man’s death during a March 2024 incident.
• The incident occurred March 6, 2024, outside a McDonald’s on South Brookhurst Road involving a man exhibiting erratic behavior.
• The suspect, 50-year-old Alejandro Campos Rios of Buena Park, was struck by the fifth beanbag round and died at the scene.
• A Taser was deployed twice before the beanbag rounds were used; officers attempted lifesaving measures after the shooting.
• The DA’s report found the corporal reasonably believed the suspect posed a threat to himself or others.
FULLERTON, CA — The Orange County District Attorney’s office released a report Thursday determining a Fullerton police corporal was justified in using beanbag rounds that killed a man during an early-morning disturbance in March 2024, the DA’s office said.
Officers responded about 3 a.m. March 6, 2024, to a McDonald’s on South Brookhurst Road after a manager reported two men acting erratically and a threat to employees arriving for the morning shift.
Body-worn camera video and the DA’s report show that 50-year-old Alejandro Campos Rios of Buena Park was shirtless, swinging a belt and exhibiting behavior officers described as erratic when they arrived at the scene.
After commands to drop the belt failed and two Taser deployments had no effect, a Fullerton police corporal fired five beanbag rounds, the last of which pierced Campos Rios’ chest and caused him to bleed profusely, authorities said.
Responding officers applied a chest seal and attempted lifesaving measures, including using a defibrillator, but Campos Rios was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
The DA’s office concluded the corporal reasonably believed Campos Rios posed a threat to himself and others present at the restaurant, and that the use of force was justified under the circumstances.