Two officers under a looming serious misconduct investigation after fatally shooting a man in the back in 2023 have won their arbitration fight, meaning they’ll be reinstated by the Tulare Police Department, Chief Fred Ynclan confirmed Thursday.
The city agreed to a $4.5 million settlement in 2023 with the family of Joel Villegas, a father of four children and three step-children, who appeared to be running away from officers when they fatally shot him on April 16, 2023, according to the family attorney and body-worn camera video.
Both officers — Adan Barragan and Daniel Bradley — were put on paid leave by the police department. The Police Officers Standards and Training, an agency that regulates officers, listed their POST certification as temporarily suspended beginning in September 2024.
But, in February, the suspensions were removed after the officers won their arbitration cases. A spokesperson for POST, Meagan Poulos, said the regulator was going forward with a serious misconduct investigation, which is still pending.
Ynclan said the officers were not yet back on the job but the arbitrator had informed him they were to be reinstated. He declined to comment on the case, noting the ongoing investigation.
Villegas’s widow, Delilah Navarro, was represented in her litigation with the city by Joshua Henderson, a San Mateo-based attorney. He expressed shock over the news the abitration came down in favor of the police.
“It’s outrageous. I think it’s a cop-friendly process,” he said. “I find it to be very troubling because I think the video is very clear it’s an unjustified killing.”
He said one of the officers can be heard in the body-cam video saying Villegas charged him with a knife. The video released by the family in 2023 shows Villegas running from police before he turns briefly and begins running away again, but he does not run toward police before they fire at him. It’s difficult to see any knife in the video until after Villegas was shot and prone on the ground.
Attempts to reach Navarro were unsuccessful Thursday.
Armando Villegas, Joel’s older brother, said he was frustrated by the arbitration outcome though he was trying not to be angry.
“I just wanted to make sure there was justice. They’re going to get away with it,” he said. “I’m at peace with it, but everyone needs to be held accountable even police officers.”
The elder Villegas said he’s reminded of his brother’s killing every time he sees police end a confrontation peacefully, adding his fleeing brother was no threat to officers.
The state Department of Justice still lists the shooting as “under investigation.” The DOJ investigates officer-involved shootings under Assembly Bill 1506, which triggers an inquiry anytime an unarmed person is killed by law enforcement.
Barragan was hired as a police trainee in 2020 and then as an officer in 2021. Bradley became a Tulare officer in 2018, according to Human Resources for the city of Tulare.
Joel Villegas with wife Delilah Navarro in a photo from 2014. Villegas was killed by Tulare police on April 16, 2023. His family has filed a claim for damages. DELILAH NAVARRO 
Joel Villegas in a photo from 2021. Villegas was killed by Tulare police on April 16, 2023. His family has filed a claim for damages. DELILAH NAVARRO
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 9:07 AM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.