Standoff ends in
man's death
By Lenny Roberts

An Ojai Valley Community Hospital maintenance worker died Friday at the conclusion of a three-hour standoff with sheriff's deputies in Meiners Oaks. What Piarre Reed did to be shot by a S.W.A.T. sniper remains undisclosed pending an extensive internal investigation.

"We were afraid for the safety of residents in that area," said Eric Nishimoto, sheriff's public information officer. "It's a populated area with a number of people we were trying to evacuate.
"Certainly, there were indications that he was under the influence of something along with having possible emotional problems. We were trying to contain him to his residence. Unfortunately, we were not able to, and he continued to fire off rounds. As a matter of officer and public safety, we unfortunately had to fire a shot."

Reed, 43, reportedly had fired numerous rifle shots from inside his residence, a two-story home in the 2200 block of Maricopa Highway, where deputies had been summoned Thursday afternoon for a disturbance call and twice again on Friday morning.

Ojai Police Chief Gary Pentis served as the initial incident commander. He said that deputies arrived at 7 a.m. after neighbors said he was screaming obscenities. Arriving deputies confirmed that allegation, but had to respond to a silent hold-up alarm at a nearby bank, which turned out to be false.

"The deputies got a signed complaint from a neighbor for disturbing the peace, but had to go on the bank call," Pentis said. "They intended to go back and arrest him, but at 9:05, neighbors made 9-1-1 calls reporting shots fired. As I opened my car door when I arrived, I heard a shot or two. We began evacuating the neighbors while Evans began to talk to him."

Detective Joe Evans, one of Ojai's two trained hostage negotiators, said he made several attempts to make contact with Reed from his position 75 feet away.

"He was obviously very distraught and angry. We attempted to contact him at his home phone, but there was no answer and he would not pick up his cell phone. When that didn't work, I began verbal commands by yelling," Evans recalled.

"What we were concerned about is that deputies heard a gunshot when they first responded. While they were concerned for the safety of the neighbors, I was concerned that he might have been injured. I just wanted him to say he was OK. I know he could hear me but all he would do is call back obscenities. My whole goal was to develop communication to solve the problem without any violence, but we were never able to get a dialogue going. (The shooting) was not the outcome that anyone wanted. But it was the outcome that happened. It was his choice."

As scores of S.W.A.T. members and sheriff's supervisors were arriving at the cordoned-off area on Maricopa Highway between Lomita Avenue and Arnaz Street, more shots were fired out of a window. It was not known if those shots were fired at deputies or at random, according to Sgt. Ron Nelson. At that point, negotiations were broken off. At 11:25, Reed entered the bottom floor of the two-story residence and began busting out windows, according to nearby deputies.

Six minutes later, S.W.A.T. deputies reported that they entered the bottom floor, but quickly left the building. At 11:51, Reed exited the residence; fired a round into the air, began yelling at a dog that was barking, and re-entered the home. Three minutes later, he was shot, once through the head while standing in the doorway.

Deputy Ray Bornand knew Reed both professionally and from Don's Gym, where both were members. Bornand's first contact with Reed was late in 1997 when he responded to a domestic incident when Reed resided on Highland Drive.

"The neighbors said that he had weapons and he was threatening to fire them," Bornand said. "We went in, and he did have several firearms. He was highly agitated, but we were able to communicate with him."

As a result of that altercation, a potential hazard file was established on the address for officer safety because Reed had weapons and allegedly threatened to shoot deputies.

"I've handled a few domestic calls or problems with neighbors involving Reed, but we were always able to calm him down. He respected deputies, especially the older ones," Bornand said.
Bornand, who is on temporary medical leave, added in recent years, Reed appeared to have gotten his life in order, working out regularly three or four times a week, staying in shape and not drinking. Bornand remembers seeing Reed at Vons about three months ago.

"I said, 'Hi,'" Bornand recalled. "He seemed healthy and happy. I didn't sense any problems. I'm sure the right call was made (Friday). The deputies just had to do their jobs. It's just unfortunate that it had to go to this extreme. I'm just glad no one else got hurt."

Like Bornand, Arnaz Avenue resident Ben Barraza worked out at Don's Gym with Reed, but has known him since their days in junior high school. Barraza said he ran into Reed about a month ago at an Oak View gas station, and Reed seemed coherent. Barraza did not recall any irrational behavior from Reed, other than a depressed state following breakups of relationships.
"He was a pretty easy-going guy who had a good heart,"

Barraza said. "He had to be under a tremendous amount of stress. This was totally out of character for him. Piarre was the type of guy who would never hurt anyone."

Along with working at the hospital, Reed owned Ojai Aire, an engineering company in the heating and air conditioning business. On some non-hospital projects, Reed partnered with Carl Graves, the hospital's head of engineering. Graves told the OVN that Reed had appeared "down in the dumps, lamenting that he had no life."

Further, Reed became agitated Thursday at work, according to Graves, and began drinking heavily, calling him at least seven times that night.

Nishimoto explained that standard operating procedure dictates that any deputy involved in an officer-involved shooting is taken off duty until a staff psychologist does an evaluation. Depending on the outcome of that evaluation, he or she can go back to their current position or be reassigned if another assignment is believed better.

Nishimoto would not disclose what caliber of weapon Reed was firing; what evidence was recovered from his residence and car; or what substances were found in Reed's body.

"These types of investigations are a little different," he said. "Every specific detail is checked and rechecked and reconfirmed. We have to make 100 percent certain that we have all facts before we release any information publicly."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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