By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
Luc Toan Chanh Ciel
Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston announces that a Coroner’s Jury has reached a finding in the April 11, 2019 death of 55-year-old Luc Toan Chanh Ciel of Richmond. The finding of the jury is that the death is a suicide.
The Coroner’s Jury reached the 10-0 verdict after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by the hearing officer, Matthew Guichard.
According to a Richmond Standard news report, Ciel, who had a restraining order against him for prior domestic violence incidents, was fatally shot by Richmond Police when he was stabbing his family members and turned on them.
According to a police statement, “Officers interrupted the suspect’s physical assault on a family member, then fired when the armed suspect ignored commands and advanced on them. The suspect was later pronounced deceased on scene. Officers rescued an adult female suffering from a laceration to her stomach and a male juvenile suffering from a laceration to his face.”
A Coroner’s Inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving police officers, is a public hearing, during which a jury rules on the manner of a person’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding: Accident,Suicide, Natural Causes or At the hands of another person, other than by accident.
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