Video: Man Wielding Sword Charges at Calif. Police During Standoff
What to know
- Sacramento police shot and wounded a sword-wielding man who charged at officers after a 30-minute standoff.
- Crisis negotiators and less-lethal munitions were used before an officer opened fire at the sword-wielding suspect.
- The suspect had called 9-1-1 and claimed he planned to kill his friend and was in stable condition following the shooting.
By Darrell Smith
Source The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento police shot and wounded a man early Monday after officers said he advanced toward them with a sword during a standoff in the city’s College/Glen neighborhood.
Officers responded just before 1:30 a.m. to a report of a man armed with a sword on the 3100 block of Occidental Drive near Julliard Drive. According to police, the man called 911 himself, saying he was trying to kill his friend.
Police said officers found the man outside his residence, armed with a sword. For approximately 30 minutes, officers — including crisis negotiators — attempted to de-escalate the situation and persuade the man to drop the weapon, police said in a news release.
When he refused and advanced toward them, one officer opened fire, striking the man at least once.
Officers also deployed less-lethal munitions during the encounter, police said in the statement. They rendered aid before the man was transported by the Sacramento Fire Department to a hospital. He was listed in stable condition and is expected to be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail after receiving medical clearance, they said.
No officers were injured in the incident. Police recovered the sword at the scene.
Police did not identify the man, but radio dispatches reviewed by The Sacramento Bee indicated the man was 40 years old.
The shooting will be investigated by the Sacramento Police Department’s Homicide Unit, Internal Affairs Division and Professional Standards Unit, the department said. The city’s Office of Public Safety Accountability and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office are providing oversight with the investigation, a standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.
Monday’s shooting was the third officer-involved shooting this year involving Sacramento police.
On May 2, officers shot 37-year-old Johnny Cruz Balcorta at Robert T. Matsui Waterfront Park after a 911 caller reported a domestic violence incident. Police said Balcorta fled with what appeared to be a firearm and refused to comply with commands.
He was struck by gunfire after officers deployed a K-9. Two imitation firearms were recovered at the scene. Balcorta was hospitalized and later booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail. He remains held without bail at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove.
Eleven days later, on May 13, officers shot another man in the River District after responding to reports of a person waving a handgun near North 16th and B streets.
Police said the man, identified as 48-year-old Joseph Allen, ignored commands and pulled what appeared to be a firearm from his pocket, prompting three officers to open fire. Police said on June 6 that Allen was booked into the Main Jail, and jail records indicate he was subsequently released. The weapon was later determined to be a replica.
Both incidents remain under investigation.
Under Sacramento’s police use-of-force policies and state law, video and audio from Monday’s incident are expected to be released within 30 days.
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