Monterey officer cleared in 2015 shooting death of homeless man.

The Monterey police officer who shot and killed a mentally-ill homeless man last year, after he refused to put down a replica gun aimed at the officer, will not be facing criminal charges, officials said Friday.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office reviewed audio from Monterey police officer Zachary Reed’s patrol car camera and interviewed witnesses of the October 2015 shooting death of Donald Miller II in Portola Plaza before determining the officer acted in self-defense and the defense of other members of the public.

“The evidence is wholly lacking in support of criminal charges against the officer because [Donald] Miller pulled a gun and pointed it at the officer while disobeying commands,” District Attorney Dean Flippo said in a press release.

The shooting occurred in broad daylight in front of Peter B’s Brewpub, where witnesses reported seeing Miller pointing the gun at  tourist.

Police were called to the area when a security manager of Portola Hotel & Spa reported a man with a gun in his waistband. That same witnessed then reported Miller had pulled out the gun and pointed it at a passerby. The security manager could not tell if the gun was real or not.

Seconds later, officer Reed arrived. And the witness said he heard him yell “drop the gun, drop the gun!” A few second later, though, at least three consecutive shops were fired, the witness said, and Miller fell to the ground.

Miller died immediately. A pathologist determined he died as a result of seven gunshot wounds.

Officer Reed, who has a total of seven years of law enforcement experience, described feeling “sheer terror and feeling helpless” when Miller pointed the gun at him while less than 50 feet away. After the fatal shooting, Officer Reed was placed on administrative leave for a couple of weeks.

Monterey Police Chief Dave Hober said now that Officer Reed has been cleared by the DA’s office, an administrative review of his actions will begin to determine if he violated the police department’s policy and procedure.

“Members of my organization, not involved in the shooting, have been reviewing that since last October,” Hober said. “They are monitoring what is going on. And a report will then come to me and I will make the determination if he followed the rules or not.”

There is no specific timeline for when the administrative review will be completed, but Hober said he hopes to finish it within a year.

An intriguing piece to this story was also in regards to the Miller’s criminal past. Before Miller was shot to death, he had been arrested hours before at a McDonald’s restaurant in Monterey for trespassing.

Miller was taken to the Monterey police station at 9:45am, and was held there for less than two hours. He was released on a citation with a promise to appear in court. A few hours later—and two hours before the shooting—he stole a replica gun from a store on Wharf #1 in Monterey.

The day before the shooting, Monterey police also received two separate calls regarding Miller making people uncomfortable. No arrests were made and no citations were given.

Miller’s father told authorities his son has a history with mental illness and had been sentenced to Atascadero State Prison in the past for stabbing him. Miller lived in his car, his father said, and had not been taking his medication.

Miller’s dad also told authorities, his son recently thanked him for giving him “the best life he could have had.”