After a nine-month investigation, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office will not file criminal charges in connection with the Berkeley balcony collapse in June, which killed six and injured seven.
“Not a day has passed since the tragedy of June 16 that I have not thought of the victims and their families,” said District Attorney Nancy O’Malley in a statement. “I am keenly aware of the devastation and injuries each victim and each family suffered and continues to confront.”
The office concluded Tuesday that there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal manslaughter charges against any one individual or company, after reviewing all known evidence, interviewing witnesses and experts, and conducting an in-depth legal analysis.
The collapse, which sent shockwaves from California to Ireland after five Irish students and one California student were killed, prompted swift responses from city officials, local engineers and legal experts to prevent future collapses.
“This is not a decision that I came to lightly,” said O’Malley in the statement. “It is the culmination of months of consultation with my team of attorneys. It follows extensive review of reports, both legal and factual, and numerous meetings with investigators and experts.”
The office announced in June it would conduct an independent investigation into the cause of the collapse, after the city Planning and Development Department announced that forensic examination and laboratory tests of the balcony were outside its scope of review.
The District Attorney’s Office also looked into the extent to which the collapse was foreseeable and what degree of negligence could be demonstrated, which could result in a involuntary manslaughter charges.
Filing a manslaughter case based on criminal negligence, however, would require the District Attorney be satisfied that any defendant or defendants acted with “reckless conduct akin to a disregard for human life,” and that the deaths resulting from those actions were reasonably foreseeable, the statement read.
In July, City Council passed new city ordinances effective immediately requiring weather-exposed structures be inspected every three years, with mandatory inspections for all city balconies within six months of the building codes’ implementation.
Of the over 6,000 buildings inspected, almost 20 percent of properties required corrective work, according to a city report released in February.
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Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks is an assistant news editor. Contact her at ayoonhendricks@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter at @ayoonhendricks.