Body Camera Footage Released In Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting North Of Durango

Body camera footage from a November officer-involved shooting on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango has been released by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.

The footage shows Ernest Marlin Pino III, 31, of New Mexico, running toward La Plata County Sheriff’s Deputy Dillon Irwin while holding two wooden objects seconds before the deputy fired five shots at Pino.

The objects Pino was holding were a baseball bat and an ax handle, according to reports from law enforcement and a decision letter from District Attorney Sean Murray.

Pino suffered injuries to his heart, left lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, right iliopsoas, ribs and vertebrae, according to an autopsy report from the La Plata County Coroner’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

After reviewing the evidence – including body camera footage, witness statements and law enforcement reports – District Attorney Sean Murray determined the deputy would not face criminal charges.

“Having reviewed the facts and evidence in this case, my office concludes that a reasonable person, confronted with the same facts and circumstances, would believe that it was necessary to use deadly physical force to defend himself or the other persons present from Mr. Pino,” Murray wrote in the decision letter.

The shooting occurred at about 2:50 p.m. Nov. 4 in the 28000 block of U.S. Highway 550, about 2 miles north of city limits. Officers were responding to a domestic violence call, according to scanner traffic and statements from law enforcement.

Pino was reportedly driving a car “erratically” while hitting his fiancee before the shooting. She was calling for help out the window, according to the decision letter.

In the video, Irwin, with his gun drawn, repeatedly orders Pino to drop the weapons while yelling at Pino’s fiancee to come to his side.

“I ain’t droppin (expletive),” Pino repeats several times.

Pino takes five running steps toward the officer and his fiancee while holding the weapons before Irwin shouts, “Get down, get down.” Pino continues running, taking four more steps before Irwin fires his gun, immediately sending Pino to the ground.

About 17 seconds elapse between the moment Irwin exits his patrol vehicle and the moment he fires his gun.

Durango Police Department officer Kaden Taulli simultaneously fired his Taser at Pino, according to the DA decision letter.

The moment Taulli deployed his Taser is not visible in the footage recorded by Irwin’s body camera.

A resident at the scene reported seeing a person in a white shirt who she believed was Pino waving his arms with nothing in his hands before shots were fired.

Pino’s fiancee is wearing a light-colored shirt in the video while running toward Irwin with her hands up – which were empty – just before Pino was shot, which may have contributed to witness confusion and differing accounts of what occurred.

The video was partially redacted by the Sheriff’s Office, with Pino’s body blurred after shots are fired.

The moments leading up to the shooting, and the moment Irwin fired his gun five times at Pino, were released unredacted. The Herald removed an intermediary section of the video that depicts sensitive footage of Pino’s fiancee.

Irwin and several other law enforcement officers attempted to treat Pino’s bullet wounds about two minutes after he was shot and began administering CPR about six minutes after shots were fired.

“Chest seals are utilized to maintain pressure inside the chest cavity, helping with proper circulation during chest compressions,” said Chris Burke, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, to the Herald in an email.

“Deputies are taught to render first-aid once the scene is safe to do so,” he said.

Irwin was initially put in handcuffs before officers began patching his wounds, but the cuffs were removed just before CPR began.

An ambulance arrived about nine and a half minutes after Pino was shot.

Coughing and wheezing could be heard several times as officers worked on Pino, but the blurred redaction made it difficult to determine whether the sounds were coming from Pino or an officer.

An automated external defibrillator was applied to Pino shortly after CPR began, but an electronic voice from the device could be heard saying, “Evaluating heart rhythm … No shock advised.”

Based on the footage, CPR was performed for nearly four minutes before the ambulance arrived and for at least five minutes after it arrived.

According to an autopsy report from the La Plata County Coroner’s Office, Pino had a blood-alcohol level of 0.229 at the time of his death – nearly three times the legal driving limit – and tested “presumptively positive” on blood and urine cannabis tests, according to the report.

According to a police interview with Pino’s fiancee, he was on probation for an assault case in New Mexico at the time of the shooting and had previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and manic depression. He did not take medication for his conditions, she said, and instead “self-medicated” with alcohol.

“In the previous months our community witnessed three separate domestic violence incidents resulting in death, this case is one of them,” Burke wrote in his email to the Herald. “If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence please report it to local law enforcement. Domestic Violence is not an isolated incident, the abuse can occur for months or even years. The earlier the violence is reported, the sooner we can help victims and families with the resources and the work to help keep them safe.”