A 32-year-old man described as “mentally unstable” was shot and killed by a Santa Cruz (CA) police officer early Sunday near Chace and Gretchell streets on the Westside.
About 3:30 a.m., the resident of a home on the 200 block of Chace Street reported a man “pounding” on his front door. While Santa Cruz police were en route, the man called back and said the man was now at the back door of the residence and yelling that he wanted to kill everyone inside, according to Santa Cruz police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke.
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When officers arrived, they called the man out of the backyard, Blaschke said. The man proceeded to attack the officers with a metal bow rake and refused repeated command from the officers to drop the gardening tool, Blaschke said.
When Tasers proved ineffective in stopping the suspect, lethal force was deployed, Blaschke said.
“One of the officers fired at the suspect with their department-issued handgun. Officers rendered first aid to the suspect until the arrival of emergency medical crews,” Blaschke said.
The man’s identity is not being released at this point.