No charges for 2 Pacifica police officers who fatally shot woman during confrontation

Pacifica community shocked by deadly shooting

Two Pacifica police officers who shot and killed a woman who pointed a gun at them after shooting her son and a dog in March won't face criminal charges, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Friday.

Officer Kevin Contreras and Cpl. Hayden Fry acted in self-defense and in defense of others on March 27 when they shot Michelle Arrais, 50, four times as she was driving away from the apartment complex at 2562 Francisco Blvd., according to a report from Wagstaffe's office.

Body worn camera footage of a fatal police shooting in Pacifica on March 27, 2024. Police opened fire on 50-year-old Michelle Arrais after officers said she pointed a gun at them while driving away. Arrais died at the scene. Pacifica Police Department

Arrais, who earlier shot her son in the arm and wrist and also shot and killed the family dog in their shared apartment, was in the driver's seat of a white SUV when Fry and Contreras—who were on opposite sides of her vehicle—shot her just moments after arriving on the scene.

Body camera footage from both officers shows Arrais pointing what turned out to be a 9mm Glock handgun at each of them before being shot, although it doesn't appear as if she fired her weapon during that encounter.

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