OFFICER SHOOTS, KILLS MAN CARRYING KNIFE

Chula Vista police say he refused to drop weapon in parking lot incident

A Chula Vista police officer shot and killed a 32-year-old man who allegedly refused to drop a knife as he approached the officer in a shopping center parking lot Sunday evening, police said.

It happened around 8:20 p.m. after callers told police a woman was being hit by a man and was screaming for help in the shopping center on Broadway near Oxford Street. Callers also reported the man was walking with a wheelchair and hitting cars with his hands and parts from the wheelchair, police said.

When the officer arrived, he saw the man was carrying a knife and told him to drop the weapon, police said. The man did not comply and instead climbed into the back of a pickup, crouched down and began hitting the truck windows.

According to San Diego police, who are investigating the shooting, the man then jumped out of the truck and began to approach the officer with the knife in his hand.

The officer told the man to stop but he continued to approach. That’s when the officer fired his gun, striking the man multiple times, police said. After the man fell, officers went to assist him, moving the knife out of the way and starting medical aid until paramedics arrived. The man died before he could be taken to a hospital.

No one else was reported injured. The pickup, which was hit by some of the rounds fired by the officer, did not belong to the man, police said.

He was identified as a Chula Vista resident. His name has not been released.

The officer who shot the man is a canine handler and has been on the Chula Vista police force for five years, officials said. His name was not released, either.

San Diego police are investigating the shooting under a new countywide protocol that says local law enforcement agencies no longer investigate their own shootings or in-custody deaths.

There is body-worn camera footage of the shooting, said San Diego police homicide Lt. Jud Campbell. He said the initial incident was not a random attack on the woman, but other details were not available.

Anyone with information regarding the incident was asked to call the San Diego police homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

The last time Chula Vista police were involved in a fatal shooting was July 19, 2020, when Chula Vista police

officers shot and killed David Angulo, 33, after he fired a shot at officers. Angulo, a suspect in three shootings, carjacked a driver at gunpoint and led officers on a pursuit, police said.

After the San Diego Police Department completes its investigation, the District Attorney’s Office is expected to review the case to determine whether the officer and sergeant will face charges.

The names of the police officer, sergeant and the woman who was shot had not been been released as of Monday evening.