Officer Cleared in Deadly Anaheim Shooting

Citizens rioted over incident

After a months-long investigation, Orange County prosecutors said Wednesday that they have cleared the Anaheim police officer who shot and killed a young man last summer — one in a string of officer-involved shootings that prompted a torrent of unrest in the county's largest city.

At a news conference Wednesday, prosecutors said Anaheim police Officer Nicholas Bennallack had reason to believe his life was in danger after cornering Manuel Diaz in an apartment complex courtyard on that July afternoon in an area known as a hotbed of gang activity.

"In such a scenario, one can have only a split-second to decide how to proceed," said Assistant Dist. Atty. Dan Wagner, who added that the evidence suggested that Bennallack "believed he was in imminent danger."