OPD kills man who threatened officers

An Orlando police officer shot and killed a 35-year-old man Friday while trying to serve him with a warrant in an apartment on East Michigan Street, Police Chief John Mina said. The subject of the warrant, Roberto Callejas, told his family he was waiting for police with explosives, Mina said. He had two knives and a laser pointer on him, but no bomb. His family called police, and officers with the Fugitive Investigative Unit found Callejas with a large knife at his own throat. Officers startled him with a taser and he fell to the ground but came back up with what they thought was a laser attached to a firearm, Mina said. Officers shot at Callejas at 2:19 p.m. and he fell to the ground again. He again started to get back up with another knife and tried to throw a knife at the officers, Mina said. Officers then shot and killed Callejas, Mina said. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting. The officer, whom Mina did not name, is on paid administrative leave, per department policy. The officer has more than 20 years with the department and is on an investigative unit. He has been involved in a shooting before, Mina said. No bombs were found in the apartment at the Crossings at Conway complex at 4061 E. Michigan St., and the area is safe, Mina said. Officers had responded to the same person in September 2016. He has threatened police before, Mina said. “To me, it seems he wanted to die at the hands of police,” Mina said. The warrant was for a charge of failing to appear in court in an armed trespassing case. Callejas had gone onto a neighbor’s porch with a knife and said he wanted to kill people, police said. Police guarded the entrance to the complex near a private school and a learning center. Children and parents leaving school walked past the commotion while nearby residents recorded the activity on cellphones from outside their homes. Krista Torralva and Gal Tziperman Lotan