By Gina Yarbrough
La Jolla, CA–A man holding a knife in his hand was fatally shot by a San Diego police officer on Saturday after he walked towards officers, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The San Diego Police Department received multiple calls regarding a man with a knife causing a disturbance in the street at the 5400 block of La Jolla Boulevard around 7 a.m.
Officers arrived on the scene and observed a Hispanic man in his 20s next to a vehicle stopped on the road. As officers approached, the man walked toward them with a knife. The officers drew their service weapons and gave the man verbal commands to drop the weapon. One officer fired his weapon, striking the man. Officers provided immediate medical aid, and paramedics transported the man to a local hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured in the incident.
The officer involved in the shooting has been employed by the San Diego Police Department for three years and is currently assigned to the department’s Northern Division.
Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved shooting investigation.
The motivation and circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation.
When the Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any criminal liability for their actions. The San Diego Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officer’s discharge of his firearm.
