HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif.—A man who allegedly refused repeated commands to put down a knife before he advanced toward a Huntington Park police officer was fatally shot by police on Jan. 18.
Los Angeles County firefighters initially responded to a report of a fire at 11:45 p.m. Monday in the 6500 block of Marbisa Avenue, according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Responding firefighters were confronted by a man who claimed to have a weapon, possibly a handgun, Schrader said. Firefighters called Huntington Park police.
“They arrived and the same man brandished a knife at them, continually paced back and forth at/near the driveway of the location,” according to Schrader. “Several commands were given and ignored, to drop the knife. Less lethal was deployed with little to no effect on the man.”
The suspect then ran northbound to Gage Avenue, with officers demanding he drop the knife along the way, Schrader said. He eventually wound up in the 6400 block of Santa Fe Avenue just after midnight.
“Again commands and less lethal were given/deployed to no avail. The suspect advanced toward an officer and an officer involved shooting occurred,” she said.
The suspect, described as a man possibly in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene, and a knife was recovered, Schrader said.
County firefighters did not find a fire at the location to which they were dispatched, she said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800- 222-8477.
