News Release
At approximately 6:00 P.M. on April 7, 2023, residents in the 2000 block of East Bard Road called the Oxnard Police Department’s Emergency Communications Center to report that a person was brandishing and threatening residents with a knife. Oxnard Police Officers responded to the location to investigate.
When officers arrived on scene, they located the suspect, an 18-year old Hispanic male inside a green truck. The truck belonged to a resident, who had not given the suspect permission to enter his vehicle. The officers gave the suspect several commands to exit the truck, and he did not readily comply.
After approximately five minutes, the suspect exited the truck, and began walking towards the officers. The officers saw that the suspect was holding a knife in his left hand. The suspect walked in the direction of the officers as the officers commanded the suspect to drop the knife.
There were four police officers and a patrol sergeant at the scene of this incident. Three of the officers drew their handguns, one officer had a “less lethal” shotgun, and the patrol sergeant drew their taser.
As the suspect continued to walk in the direction of the officers, the sergeant deployed their taser. The taser probes contacted the suspect but had minimal effect; the suspect was able to continue moving towards the officers. The officer with the less lethal shotgun fired one “bean bag” round at the suspect, which caused the suspect to fall to the ground. The suspect quickly got back on his feet, knife in hand, in close proximity to officers, when one police officer fired their Department-issued handgun at the suspect. The suspect fell to the ground after being shot.
The officers called for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and provided life saving efforts, including CPR, until EMS personnel arrived on scene. An ambulance transported the suspect to the Ventura County Medical Center, and he was pronounced deceased at approximately 7:00 P.M.
The victims who reported the initial brandishing of a knife by the suspect were interviewed by officers and detectives, and provided detailed statements.
The police officers’ body-worn cameras captured the entire incident. The Oxnard Police Department will share this footage in a Community Critical Incident Debriefing video next week.
In accordance with standard protocol for officer-involved shootings, the involved officers have been placed on administrative leave as the investigation progresses.
The Oxnard Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, in conjunction with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, is investigating the incident. Detectives are requesting that anyone who might have witnessed the incident, or has additional information to contact Detective Chip Buttell at (805) 385-7688 or [email protected].
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‘The Oxnard Police Department will share this footage in a Community Critical Incident Debriefing video next week.’
See previous article about editing of police body camera videos. I assume this shared video will have been edited by in-house individuals or outsourced. Would it have been possible for the officer to shoot the knife-wielding man in the legs? By the description, the weapon (hand gun) was used at short range. Surely an officer who periodically qualifies with their weapon can hit the person in the legs, especially at short range. I don’t think the person would have gotten back up then. Yes, I was not in that situation but if I were, I would have had the more lethal weapon (handgun) plus body protection while the attacker had the knife. ‘Bring a knife to a gun fight’ – ever heard that statement? Yes, it is unfortunate that another person must die.