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Video: Calif. cops fatally shoot axe-wielding man at power plant

The officers’ actions were determined justified

By Police1 Staff

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Body cam footage released Tuesday shows a standoff between three officers and an armed man before he was fatally shot, the Mercury News reported.

Officers Adam Hutson and Timothy Faye, as well as Sgt. Jarrod Nunes encountered Thompson Nguyen, 27, on Metcalf Energy Center property Jan. 9. Nguyen, who was mentally ill but not receiving treatment, may have been at the plant because he thought it was being used by the government for mind control, according to reports described by the Mercury News.

Body cam video shows two officers repeatedly instructing Nguyen to drop the axe and staff he was holding as Nguyen wanders the property.

According to footage, Nguyen told officers to shoot him. Officers responded that they didn’t want to shoot him and repeated instructions to drop his weapons.

Nguyen is seen approaching a squad car with one officer inside while the other two took cover behind an open car door. Nguyen ignored instructions to stop before he was fatally shot.

A search of Nguyen’s person after he was killed revealed he was carrying knives, pepper spray, handcuffs, a flashlight, a fake police badge and a stolen radio. A search of his vehicle led investigators to various weapons including multiple knives, a sword, a pipe and nunchucks, plus journals that indicated Nguyen believed he was a god possessed by aliens.

Sgt. Nunes reported that despite each officer carrying a Taser, none were deployed because it “would have been ineffective.”

Prosecutors determined the officers’ actions were justified.

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