As you may recall, a Laguna Beach police officer was involved in the non-fatal shooting of Tobiah Steinmetz on March 11, 2021, after an extended high-speed pursuit of his stolen vehicle. Pursuant to protocol, LBPD invited the Orange County District Attorney's Office to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. In addition to Mr. Steinmetz recently entering guilty pleas to multiple felony charges, the OCDA Office has now completed its investigation and determined that the use of deadly force by our officer was legally justified.

Now that Mr. Steimetz has pled guilty to the underlying criminal charges, our attorneys are seeking to lift the stay in his related federal lawsuit. Once the stay is lifted, his civil case should eventually be dismissed by way of pretrial motions.

On behalf of the Police Department, I applaud the Orange County District Attorney's Office for completing a thorough and transparent investigation of this incident. I thank the City Council and community for their patience during this process. The Police Department will continue to provide exceptional policing services in the most professional manner possible, and we continue our commitment to provide enhanced police services to our community and residents.

Click HERE to Read OCDA's Investigative Report

- Jeff Calvert, Laguna Beach Police Chief