O.C. sheriff's deputy cleared in fatal shooting Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr.

O.C. sheriff's deputy cleared in fatal shooting of unarmed Marine
Prosecutors say Darren Sandberg, a 15-year veteran of the department, acted reasonably when he shot Manuel Loggins Jr. in a school parking lot after he refused to follow the deputy's orders.
By Nicole Santa Cruz
Los Angeles Times
September 29, 2012

An Orange County sheriff's deputy has been cleared in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Marine after investigators with the district attorney's office concluded he acted with appropriate force.

In a 13-page letter to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens released Friday, prosecutors said Deputy Darren Sandberg, a 15-year veteran of the department, acted reasonably and with sufficient force given the circumstances of the predawn incident in which Manuel Loggins Jr. was shot in a school parking lot after he refused to follow Sandberg's orders.

"Consequently, although this incident ended tragically, and in hindsight may have been preventable, we find there is insufficient evidence to prove that Deputy Sandberg's conduct violated criminal law," the prosecutors wrote.

Sandberg returned to work in March in a non-patrol assignment. The district attorney's investigation essentially closes a criminal inquiry, although a civil one is pending.

The shooting puzzled those close to Loggins, who remember the 31-year-old married father of three as a deeply religious career Marine and left them wondering why a military member would ignore the commands of a uniformed officer.

"It's usually hard to know what's in a person's mind," said Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Wagner. "This is no different."

Wagner and fellow prosecutor Susan Price said that shortly before 4:40 a.m. on Feb. 7, Loggins sped his SUV into a San Clemente High School parking lot and crashed into a gate, trapping part of it under his vehicle. His two young daughters were also in the car.
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Original report
2 kids in back seat when Marine from Camp Pendleton was shot at high school