His client feared for his life and defended himself. The law doesnt require officers even in todays age to have their brains bashed out with a lethal instrument. Which a baseball bat is. Drop the bat, man. Reporter officers tased taylor but it didnt work. Officer fletcher then fired a shot that proved to be deadly. Omalley has charged fletcher with voluntary manslaughter. Fletcher seen here in this archive individual from 2013 had been with the department for more than 15 years. Family members say taylor may have been having a mental episode but believe he could have been talked down. Friends of the family say that while they would have liked murder charges, at least this is something. At the end of the day a lot of times we have to settle. Reporter at the time of the shooting, taylor was homeless. I did reach out to his mother and grandmother who deferred all comments to their lawyer. A lawyer who says they are encouraged by the d. A. s decision. In alameda county, j. R. Stone, abc 7