Killing of Dylan Noble

Shortly around 3:20 p.m. on June 25, 2016, longtime Fresno officers Raymond Camacho, who worked with the department for 20 years, and Robert Chavez, who also worked with the department for 17 years, initiated an afternoon traffic stop on a black 1995 GMC Sierra pickup truck with a missing trunk door for wreckless driving and speeding. Noble refused to pull over the vehicle, and Fresno officers had no choice but to pursue the vehicle until reaching towards the parking lot leading to the Chevron gas station and the Fast N Esy convenience store near the intersections of East Shields Avenue and North Armstrong Avenue in the east side of Fresno. Noble shouted "FUCK IT" as his last words. Camacho shot Noble twice, causing him to fall to the ground. He fired another round before Chaveaz opened a fourth round 12 seconds later. Noble was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead three hours later. ==Protests & Reactions==

Despite officers finding both alcohol and cocaine in the vehicle, Dylan Noble's death sparked massive outrage across Fresno. For five days between June 25 and 30, 2016, protests began almost immediately at the Chevron gas station where Noble was gunned down. Large gatherings were presented at the scene of the "crime", followed by a walkout in downtown Fresno. Several of Noble's friends held up White Lives Matter signs as an act of protest, while one person carried a Confederate flag, which drew international media attention over the usage of both items. It was later confirmed that the White Lives Matter sign was meant for "the support of white people as equal as black people from previous incidents", as his friends confirmed that “Dylan’s life mattered, and yes, he’s white.” It remains undetermined on why one person used a Confederate flag in the protests. Exactly a week after Noble's private funeral in his hometown of Clovis, California, protests surged again on July 13, 2016, after the Fresno Police Department released graphic bodycam footage, leading to a larger, more organized demonstrations involving several groups, who joined to protect police brutality in general. The protests were held in front of both the Fresno County Jail and the City Hall. Family members and small groups of supporters continued to hold demonstrations well into November 2016, as they all gathered in front of the District Attorney's office, demanding that the officers involved be criminally charged. On June 25, 2017, another protest was held in connection of the first anniversary of his death. Noble's mother described Dylan as a kind-hearted young man who loved his truck and friends, pushing back against any attempt by the media or police to portray him as a criminal. His father expressed both deep disbelief and anger in his interview, stating that the bodycam shows how his son was murdered, adding that "They’re just trigger-happy. Nothing is going to bring my son back. But I want those cops to pay. I want them to go to jail for murder." During the second set of protests, Fresno's mayor Ashley Swearengin spoke on the phone to ABC O&O affiliate KFSN-TV, saying "I still struggle to find the right words, because there's no way to capture, I think, the feelings that we're all having right now. I'm trying to walk through this as if I were in the shoes of law enforcement, the shoes of family, and I think like most Fresnans, it's just such a conflictive feeling. == Investigation & Settlement ==

The Fresno County District Attorney's Office conducted a multi-month investigation and was announced in December 2016 that both Camacho and Chavez would not face criminal charges. Then-Police Chief Jerry Dyer stated that while the initial shots were "objectively reasonable," the officers violated department policy regarding the final shot, pulled by Chavez, were fired while Noble was already on the ground. He noted that the threat had diminished and "other potential alternatives" should have been explored. Several files were filed by his parents days and weeks after the killing. On August 3, an autopsy report confirmed that Noble had a blood alcohol content of 0.12, which is much higher than the legal limit of 0.01 for people underage. Toxicology also found traces of benzoylecgonine, the primary component of cocaine in his system. As part of the aftermath of Noble's death, the Fresno Police Department implemented new training requirements for high-risk traffic stops and modified equipment, such as adding slings to department shotguns to help officers transition more easily to less-lethal options. On August 9, 2018, the city of Fresno agreed to pay a total of $2.8 million to the parents of Noble. The released breaks down the agreement saying that Dylan's father will receive $1.29 million, Dylan's mother with $1.49 million, and the estate $20,000. ==See also==