Audio, photos paint clearer picture of Pasco man’s gunfight with police

Six seconds. Twenty-eight gunshots.

That’s what it took for a domestic disturbance suspect to exchange gunfire with three Pasco officers.

Edwin Espejo didn’t want the police in his house. He wasn’t going back to jail.

The officers, responding to 911 calls about yelling and fighting, made it clear they weren’t leaving. They wanted a peaceful ending, for his kids.

But when an already agitated Espejo was lightly hit with two Taser probes, he reached for his semi-automatic pistol and fired off seven shots, according to police and court documents.

Officers John D’Aquila and Matt Griffin and Reserve Officer David Dillsworth fired a total of 21 shots from their pistols.

Audio, photographs and reports, recently released by the city of Pasco through a public records request, paint a clearer picture of what happened in that basement late Sept. 16.

The father of six was hit several times, but survived his injuries. He's been charged with six felonies.

The three officers all escaped injury, though a bullet passed through D’Aquila’s loose pant leg. They returned to work in late October after being on administrative leave since the shooting.

An independent investigation done by the Tri-Cities Special Investigations Unit has wrapped up and been forwarded to Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant.

Earlier this month, Sant told the Herald that the case is under review by his office and a decision should be coming soon.

Espejo, 31, is locked up in the Franklin County jail on $2.5 million bail.

He has a Feb. 5 trial date on three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count each of second-degree unlawful possession of a gun, fourth-degree assault with domestic violence and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence.

The attempted murder charges include allegations he was armed with a gun, which could bring enhanced penalties if convicted.

According to reports of police interviews with witnesses, Espejo, his wife Maria Ordaz and their kids were staying at the South Ninth Avenue house temporarily until their own home was ready.

They occupied the basement space, which included dressers, a mattress on the floor, at least two sets of bunk beds, a washer and dryer and storage for clothes and household goods.

The family that lived on the main floor heard yelling and other noises coming from the basement. That went on for about 10 to 20 minutes before one of Espejo’s children ran upstairs and told them to call the police.

Ordaz later told a detective that her husband had been drinking all day and was arguing with her about the TV and their kids.

Espejo is a convicted felon with a history of domestic disputes involving Ordaz.

Dispatchers took the first call at 11:48 p.m., and Griffin got to the home in just over a minute. He was met outside by several scared children, who told him Espejo was in the basement.

The audio exchange between Griffin and Espejo was captured by a microphone on the officer’s uniform, which is part of their dashboard camera system.

Griffin spent about three minutes trying to calm him down. He assured Espejo that his kids were out of the room, asked him to raise his hands and crawl or walk toward them, and at one point made sure his fellow officers knew Espejo had put down his gun.

Griffin by now was joined by five other officers in the narrow entrance to the poorly lit basement.

In between what sounds like whining, Espejo can be heard cursing at them to get out of his house and talking about the officers killing him.

“We don’t want nobody to get hurt tonight, sir. This is something that’s (small) right now. Don’t make this any bigger, man,” Griffin said. “Your kids need you, man. Edwin, your kids need you, sir. Your kids need their father.”

“We don’t want to hurt anybody, man. That’s not what we want to do,” he added.

Griffin asked of his colleagues, “Who’s got less lethal? Do it right now.”

That’s when D’Aquila stepped forward with his Taser, in an attempt to subdue Espejo. But when the probes did not make a good connection, Espejo quickly grabbed his gun and opened fire.

“Gun! Got a gun!” Griffin shouted.

Six seconds later, after the shooting stopped and an injured Espejo sat on the mattress, Griffin told his colleagues to “keep a gun on him” while yelling at the suspect to take his hands off his own pistol.

The officers quickly applied pressure to Espejo’s open, bleeding wounds and placed tourniquets on his arms and legs, then notified paramedics that it was safe for them to come into the home.

At that point, detectives with other Tri-City agencies took over the investigation.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Audio, photos paint clearer picture of Pasco man’s gunfight with police."