SUSANVILLE, Calif. — The Susanville Police Departmment released body camera footage showing a fatal shooting of a man who attacked an officer with a machete while officers were attempting to check on the welfare of three children.
According to the release, officers responded to a home during the early morning hours of May 6 after receiving reports that a man was acting erratically, using suspected methamphetamine and threatening children while armed with a machete.
| REGISTER: The hidden cost of the modern patrol shift
Body camera footage shows the reporting party telling officers that the man threatened to harm the children while he was speaking on the phone with her.
When officers arrived, the man spoke with them from an upstairs window and initially denied having any weapons. As family members arrived, the man became agitated and. He began screaming and held a 2-year-old child out of a second-story window.
After bringing the child back inside the window, he can be seen continuing to hold them as he swings a machete. He struck the window frame and began to swing the machete inside the home when officers fired shots. Officers then broke through the front door.
As officers crossed the threshold, the man descended the staircase wielding a machete and struck an officer in the shoulder. The officer then fired three rounds, striking the man.
Police said the man continued holding the machete and ignored commands to drop it. Another officer then deployed less-lethal munitions, causing the man to fall to the ground.
Officers secured the man and immediately began lifesaving efforts while one searched the home. Three children, ages 2, 4 and 8, were found unharmed in an upstairs bedroom.
One officer suffered a significant laceration to his shoulder and received eight staples. The suspect sustained gunshot wounds to his arm and torso and died despite lifesaving efforts.
The district attorney’s review concluded that the use of deadly force was justified under California law. The investigation was conducted by the Lassen County Law Enforcement Interagency Investigation Team with assistance from multiple local and regional agencies.
