The Ventura County District Attorney's Office on Monday said it would not pursue any criminal charges against Simi Valley police officers involved in the May 2007 arrest and subsequent death of 33year-old Reymundo Garcia Guerrero.

In a 76-page report, the D.A.'s office concluded that Simi Valley officers were "fully justified" in the amount of force they used to subdue and arrest Guerrero, who led police on an erratic, cocainefueled pursuit that ended with his Ford F-150 pickup truck in the backyard of a Chelsea Court home.

Guerrero died at Simi Valley Hospital May 23, 2007, eight days after going into cardiac arrest shortly after he was stunned 11 times by an officer's Taser gun as multiple officers struggled to remove him from his vehicle. Guerrero had a high level of cocaine in his system and was holding about one ounce of cocaine on his person.

Though Ventura County Medical Examiner Ronald O'Halloran determined that Guerrero's death was most likely caused by asphyxia related to being restrained by police, the D.A.'s office concluded that Guerrero's actions— not those of officers—are what ultimately led to his death.

"Nothing the officers did appears excessive or unreasonable in attempting to restrain Guerrero, and they were fully justified in using the limited amount of force they did to eliminate the threat Guerrero posed to others," the report reads.

Police Chief Mike Lewis said the report confirms what an internal department investigation determined shortly after the incident.

"It's an unfortunate situation that took place; however, from the very beginning our review and investigation of the pursuit and the use of force by our officers led us to believe they acted appropriately," Lewis said. "A year or more has gone by now, and we've stood by our officers the whole time."

Simi Valley police dispatch received several citizen complaints on the night of May 15, 2007 of a vehicle driving recklessly in the area of Sequoia Avenue and Pine View Drive, doing "donuts" in the middle of the street and repeatedly squealing its tires in acceleration and jamming on the brakes.

A 17yearold woman told investigators that Guerrero tried to run her off the road and tried to hit her as she stepped out of her car. Another witness said Guerrero got out of his vehicle and confronted him in his front yard, saying, "Don't mess with me again," before throwing a CD at him.

Officers eventually observed the vehicle at Fitzgerald Road and Sequoia and initiated a traffic stop, but Guerrero refused to pull over. After a slow-speed pursuit, Guerrero crashed his car into the backyard of a home on Chelsea Court.

With Guerrero keeping a "death grip" on his steering wheel, Senior Officer Butch Hale smashed the truck's window and Senior Officer Brian Murray shocked Guerrero with his Taser in an effort to gain control of the situation, the report states.

According to records, Murray stunned Guerrero in five-second bursts 11 times in about 90 seconds. The Taser X26E used provides a 50,000-volt electric charge.

"Each time they would discharge the short burst, he would stop putting his foot on the accelerator, but the minute (the Taser) was stopped, (he) would press the accelerator down again," Lewis said.

Senior Officer Rich Lamb eventually jumped into the bed of the pickup truck, broke his way in through the back window, shifted the vehicle into park and pulled the keys from the ignition.

After pulling him through the driver's side window, at least six officers struggled with Guerrero as he continued to fight for about a minute as police attempted to handcuff him and bind his legs. When he discovered that he could not find Guerrero's pulse, Senior Officer James Buckley tried CPR.

Paramedics arriving minutes later revived Guerrero and took him to the hospital, but he never resumed breathing on his own.

O'Halloran determined the cause of death was a "compressed chest with the associated factor of cocaine toxicity." He added that "the high level of cocaine in the system would be sufficient to establish the cause of death absent evidence of restraint asphyxia."

In the end, Senior Deputy D.A. Harmon concluded that officers would have been within their rights to use lethal force.

"Guerrero posed a serious risk of harm to the officers in the backyard and to any bystanders if he would have been able to regain traction and escape the backyard."

To view the D.A.'s complete report on the incident, go to http:// da.countyofventura.org.

The city is still facing a civil lawsuit filed by Guerrero's family, and Lewis said the case could end up in federal court.

"An incident that was over in 10 minutes is going to go on, at least in (the officers') minds, for years to come," he said.