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YCSO deputy cleared in 2015 Cottonwood shooting

Posted at 5:14 PM, May 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-03 20:14:43-04

The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that they were unable to find any criminal wrongdoing in the shooting death of a man at a traffic stop by a deputy last year.

Officials said Deputy Steven Gorman has been cleared in 19-year-old Ebin Lamont Proctor’s death.

Proctor was shot and killed in Cottonwood on May 30, 2015, after Gorman chased and got into a physical altercation with him following a traffic stop, investigators said.

The attorney’s office said Gorman “did everything he could possible do during the incident to prevent the resulting outcome,” and that Proctor would not comply and forced the deputy to shoot him to ensure his own safety.

 “The fact that Mr. Proctor had an active felony warrant and had consumed methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol, although unknown at the time by the deputy, helps explain Mr. Proctor's conduct in fleeing and fighting with the deputy that night,” the attorney’s office said.