A memo authored by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Robert Olson: Even after Dibble apologized for erroneously touching the buttocks of Vilan’s friend, Vilan remained angry at Dibble. Vilan and the others in his group were determined to have, as Taylor Willis described, a “beat down.” Vilan and his friends would not let the matter go. They acted in concert to surround and gang-beat Dibble. This is apparent from the physical evidence, the statements of the independent witnesses and Dibble’s statement. The issue is not whether Dibble had been drinking and his level of intoxication[1], but whether his actions at the time he used deadly force were reasonable, when viewed objectively from the point of view of a rationale and sober person. The men involved in the attack with Vilan (i.e., Taylor Willis, Lewis Brooks, Manuel Wilson and Jesse Plumley) were evasive in their interviews with law enforcement. For example, Brooks claimed he was inside the restaurant when the shots were fired, this despite statements of other witnesses, including Wilson, that Brooks was present in the group that surrounded Dibble. Nevertheless, the statements of Vilan’s associates provide corroboration of the statements of Dibble and the independent witnesses, that Dibble was under attack by a group of men, at least one of whom used a weapon, the metal chair, at the time Dibble fired his gun. In fact, Willis confirmed in his interview that Vilan was clearly the aggressor. Vilan was still “pissed off” over 45 minutes after the slapping incident and was the one to strike the first blow by hitting Dibble “good” in the head knocking him towards a parked car. Brooks similarly described Vilan as being someone who “wouldn’t back down.” Wilson, in his interview, commented that Vilan was just looking for a “little beat down.” Plumley described himself as several steps behind Vilan when they “surrounded the cop.” Studley, who was associated with Vilan’s group and watched the incident from across the street, said that she saw a group of four males rush toward Dibble as he was leaning back in a chair. Those involved in the attack against Dibble and who provided statements, claimed that Dibble did not identify himself as a police officer prior to the shooting. It was suggested by one of Vilan’s friends that if Vilan had known Dibble was a police officer, Vilan would not have looked for a fight. That claim is contradicted both by the statement of an independent witness and by a statement of Vilan himself. According to witness Johnny Randel, he confronted Vilan outside the restaurant just before Vilan and his friends went after Dibble. Randel asked Vilan,“Is this squashed?” According to Randel, Vilan commented, “Can you believe, he’s a police officer?” Randel turned his back but then heard the sounds of what sounded like metal scraping on concrete. Randel then heard someone yell out “I’m a police officer!” just before the shots were fired. The independent witness Robert Furtado also corroborates the statements of Dibble that he was acting in self-defense. In his interview, Furtado stated that the group that approached Dibble “looked like they were on a mission to go kick someone’s butt.” This witness described hearing a commotion and then looked over to see the group of
men “just beating on the guy in the orange shirt.” According to Furtado, they were hitting, kicking and beating him with a chair. This confrontation was anything but a one-on-one fist fight. Several men surrounded and attacked their primary target, Dibble. Under those circumstances the likelihood of serious bodily injury or even death was high. That the attackers escalated the situation further by use of a weapon (the chair) further underlines the volatile and life threatening nature of the situation. It is apparent from a review of the facts and the law that Scott Dibble acted in reasonable self-defense when he fired at his attackers. Therefore, we find no criminal culpability in regard to the use of force by Scott Dibble during the course of the attack by Shaun Vilan and his associates.