Daverion Kinard

Date: 2/13/2021                      Location: Fontana, CA                      FACTORS (1,2,19)   

Name: Daverion Kinard                                 

Criminal History/Involved: Yes, in March 2015 he was “arrested on suspicion of mail theft, identity theft and receiving stolen property”. Kinard has a prior felony burglary conviction./Yes, Kinard was caught while committing a burglary.             

Mental Illness: None reported

Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./None reported.

Race/Sex/Age: Black/Male/28

Officer(s) involved: Fontana Police Officer Johnny Tutiavake                                                      

What prompted the initial contact with police? At approximately 10:30 p.m. on February 13, 2021, Fontana Police responded to a 911 call of a residential burglary in progress. Upon arriving, officers observed through an open window that a man, Daverion Kinard, was unlawfully in the residence and yelled at him to stop and remain where he was.

Actions taken by subject towards police: Kinard refused to comply with the officer’s lawful orders and ran from the house. After taking the officers on a foot pursuit through the neighborhood, Kinard hid inside a port-a-john at a construction site.

Reactions by the police: While officers set up a perimeter, PO Tutiavake came upon Kinard in the port-a-john. As seen on the video from his body camera, when the officer opened the port-a-john, Kinard’s hands were folded under his jacket and not visible to the officer. When Kinard’s hands then come into view and he is holding a metallic object in his right hand. PO Tutiavake shut the door so he could draw his duty gun, quickly reopened the door and fatally shot Kinard thinking that object was a gun. Tragically the object ended up being a lighter.

Outcome of investigation into the fatal police incident: The shooting is being investigated by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

What could the subject have done that day to still be alive today? Not commit a burglary prompting the alarm system to activate and homeowner to call 911; stop and remain when the police ordered him to; not flee the scene taking officers on a foot chase at night through the neighborhood; not hide in a small enclosed area where the officer encountered him was vulnerable to an attack by him; not reveal his hidden hand while holding a metallic object.

Miscellaneous: “Kinard was on Post Release Supervision” from his burglary conviction.

Justified Use of Deadly Force? YES, given the poor lighting and speed at which it happened, when Kinard pulled his hands out from under his arms and had a metallic object in one of them, the officer reasonably feared the object was a gun and he justifiably used deadly force to defend against what he perceived was a lethal threat.