Newhall Shooting - A Tactical Analysis. Michael E. Wood
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(the other two were known to be fired at Officer Alleyn). Unit 78-12 was struck on the right side by multiple projectiles at some point during the fight, but it is unknown if these strikes were from the revolver gunfire of Davis and Twining as 78-12 arrived on scene, or the single shotgun blast fired by Davis from the front of the Pontiac, which streaked across the hood of the CHP car. It’s possible that none of the earlier shots caused the damage and that it was the result of Davis firing at Pence while he advanced. The right rear window of 78-12 was completely shot out with no glass hanging, and the center of the right passenger window was also shot out, but a rim of shattered glass hung around the edges of the window. There was a hit between the two windows on the vertical portion of the pillar, as well as a hit on the right front fender, about 12:30 to 1:00 position from the tire. There was also a hit on the bottom edge of the door above the running board, at about 5:30 position from the CHP star on the door. The left rear tire was also flat, suggesting a projectile may have skipped underneath the car and struck it. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
27. As previously discussed in Endnote 24, Officer Alleyn may have been wounded at this point, with blood running into his eyes and disrupting his vision and his ability to place accurate fire on Davis.
28. The round fired by Officer Alleyn struck the rear window of Unit 78-8 about 2.75 inches above the moulding and 18.75 inches to the right of the left moulding. The bullet was later recovered from the rear of the driver’s seat, about three inches below the top edge of the seat and in line with the hole in the window. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
29. There are multiple contradictions in witness testimony during this phase of the battle.
Some witnesses claimed that the CHP shotgun had been retrieved earlier in the fight, and there is confusion about whether Davis or Twining was the person who picked it up. However, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the shotgun had not been retrieved prior to this point and that Davis was the one to recover it.
A witness claimed that Davis struggled with the CHP shotgun and inadvertently fired it while trying to work the gun. After the accidental discharge, the shotgun was placed in the car, according to the witness. Importantly, this testimony matches the CHP’s version of the event, as well.
The physical evidence tends to discredit this narrative, however. An accounting of the ammunition from this shotgun indicates that one spent CHP shotgun shell and three live CHP shotgun rounds were found with the weapon at the Hoag house, where Twining had taken hostages later in the day during his escape attempt. The spent shell was found in the hallway of the Hoag house next to Twining’s dead body, along with two other spent shells supplied from Twining’s own stock. (Fortunately, the brand and hull color of the CHP’s shotgun ammunition differed from the ammunition that the felons brought to the fight, making it easy to identify the source—the CHP issued Western Super-X ammunition with red hulls, while Davis and Twining had brought Remington-Peters ammunition with blue hulls to the fight.) Because Twining had engaged Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies with multiple shots from the shotgun in that location during two raids on the house, it is believed that the CHP shotshell was fired in the hallway of the Hoag house and not at the Standard Station location. Furthermore, it is inconceivable that the weapons-savvy Twining would have waited to eject the spent CHP shotshell and make the gun ready with a live round until starting the gun battle with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in the hallway of the Hoag household. He most certainly would have ensured the gun had a loaded chamber at some time during his three-mile flight from the scene, particularly before he used the gun to take the Hoag family hostage. This makes the accidental discharge theory even less plausible and tends to confirm the accounts of witnesses who did not see the accidental shotgun discharge occur.
There is an additional matter that Davis should not have been confused by the operation of the CHP shotgun, which was virtually identical to his own. The location of the button that releases the fore-end and the safety button are different on the Remington 870 and Western Field 550 designs, but it’s unlikely this would have confused the weapons-savvy Davis enough to cause an accidental discharge.
Interestingly, other witnesses claim that Davis fired Officer Frago’s shotgun or revolver at the fallen officer, at contact range, after he had taken them away from him. However, the coroner who performed the post-mortem examination on Officer Frago found no evidence of additional wounds beyond the two gunshot wounds from Twining’s revolver. Additionally, there was no physical evidence that indicated such a shot was taken (spent cases, impact marks on the asphalt, etc.). It is much more likely that these witnesses saw the muzzle blast from Twining’s handgun, which was simultaneously being fired beyond Davis on the opposite side of the Pontiac, and mistook it for fire from Davis. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
30. Interview with Mr. Kness and Officer (Retired) Richard Robinson, who was present when Mr. Kness made his initial statement to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators after the shooting. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html> and personal interview with Richard Robinson.
31. In Mr. Kness’ own words, Officer Alleyn “was dead weight to me” when he attempted to drag him to cover and he couldn’t move him. Because Davis was still firing at them, Mr. Kness tried to shoot him with the shotgun, but when it clicked on an empty chamber he “got a sick feeling.” When the shotgun clicked on an empty chamber the second time, he “really got a sick feeling.” Interview with Mr. Kness. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html>.
32. Mister Kness reported that, when he first picked up the revolver and attempted to cock it, his thumb had a hard time finding the hammer spur. He then grabbed the revolver by the barrel with his left hand, placed his right hand on the grip, and successfully thumb-cocked the revolver. He then mated his left hand to the right in a “two-hand combat position” to fire the shot over the trunk with his elbows resting on the vehicle. Mister Kness later told investigators that he was a little surprised the weapon fired, because after having two dry fires on the shotgun earlier, he didn’t know if the revolver would dry fire, too. Interview with Mr. Kness. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2010) The Newhall Incident: A Law Enforcement Tragedy [Film]. Santa Clarita, CA, courtesy of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and SCVTV, <http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvhs040510btv.html> and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
33. Several witnesses would recount that Davis clutched his chest or armpit area and spun away like he had been hit, and Mr. Kness said that, “I knew I had him, because he spun around.” Davis was later found to have a 1” long wound under the armpit at the hospital, but it’s not clear if this wound came from Mr. Kness’ shot or from one of Mr. Schwartz’s shots later.
The “wing window” trim on the passenger’s side door of the Pontiac was hit by a bullet at some point during the fight, and bullet core and jacket pieces were later recovered from the vehicle in this location (Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department evidence tag #JW1). A hit in this area would have been in line with Mr. Kness’ position at the right rear of Unit 78-8 and Davis’ position at the front bumper of the Pontiac, and it is possible this is where Mr. Kness’ bullet struck, sending fragments into Davis. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigation files.
34. There has been some limited discussion as to whether or not Mr. Kness wounded Davis with his revolver shot, or if the wounds were sustained during Davis’ later encounter with another civilian after he fled the scene. The evidence indicates that the wounds Davis received in the later fight were to his neck and collarbone area. Also, since Mr. Kness was shooting at Davis from a very close distance and saw him spin away as the shot was fired, and since