Rightful Fire
District Attorney won't file charges against Salinas cop
Monday, August 24, 2009
Nearly a year after the shooting, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office today announced that it won't file charges against a Salinas police officer, who unloaded two clips while shooting and killing an Iraq War veteran armed with a loaded AK-47.
On Aug. 31, 2008 Officer Louis Plunkett responded to the report of a suspicious person hiding in the bushes outside a Wells Fargo in north Salinas. When Plunkett approached Philip Michael Dorado of Castroville, police say, Dorado pulled the assault rifle from his waist band.
"There was no doubt in Officer Plunkett’s mind that Mr. Dorado was pulling the rifle out to shoot at him, and he was fearful for his own life as well as for that of his brother," says the DA's press release. Plunkett's brother Bradley was with him on a ride along.
Plunkett fired two magazines worth of bullets at Dorado, who was shot eight times. The DA's conclusion not to file charges is the latest in a string of officer-involved shooting investigations in Salinas.
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