Video Shows Fatal California Officer-Involved Shooting

HUNTINGTON BEACH – A new video surfaced Saturday, Sept. 23, of the Huntington Beach police officer shooting and killing a suspect outside of a 7-Eleven, with this one showing the male aggressively approaching the officer.

Previous versions did not show as much of the encounter before the shooting. At the end, this version appears to add a view previously seen on social media.

This nearly two-minute video, posted on YouTube and apparently shot from inside a vehicle parked outside of the 7-Eleven, opens with a man with long hair and wearing a dark coat advancing toward the officer, who has a weapon drawn, possibly a Tazer.

The 9:30 a.m. encounter occurred across the street from Marina High School.

The officer, backing away, appears to say “Have a seat,” but the man continues approaching and throws two punches.

Then the officer grabs the man in a headlock, both fall to the ground and continue to scuffle, the video shows.

The man is punched several times and grabs something from the officer’s utility belt. Finally, the officer gets away and ends up firing seven shots.

In another video captured by another witness, the man can be seen getting shot, turning and leaning back and falling against the window of the 7-Eleven, with a dark object appearing to fall from one of his hands as he collapses to the ground.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities haven’t released his name or age, pending notification of his next of kin.

The officer, a two-and-a-half-year veteran of the Police Department, wasn’t injured. Someone in the store was grazed, perhaps by a shard of glass or a bullet, and treated at the scene.

Police have not said what led up to the confrontation, or why the officer ended up at the store. He was not on a dispatched call but could have been on a break or seen something while passing by.

Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said Friday evening that it appears the officer’s actions were justified. He had tried to use a Taser on the suspect, the chief said.

“Clearly, the suspect was resisting,” the chief said. “Clearly, this person was attacking our officer.”

The shooting is being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, as is routine for shootings involving police officers in Huntington Beach.

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