On Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 7:15 p.m., the Sacramento Police Department responded to a report of a family disturbance involving a weapon in the 4100 block of Wheatley Circle.  Multiple 911 calls were received from family members stating that the suspect was intoxicated and chasing his own brother with a knife.  Officers responded and soon after located the suspect a few blocks away, attempted to detain him and gave pleading orders for the suspect to drop the weapon.  The contact ultimately resulted in an officer involved shooting in which the suspect later died.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the 22-year-old suspect was at a family gathering, became intoxicated and was attempting to get into his vehicle to drive.  The brother took the suspect’s keys, which sparked a physical fight to get the car keys back.  The family also attempted to stop him by disabling the suspect’s vehicle while the brother was physically stopping him.  He eventually got into his disabled car and fell asleep.   Approximately ten minutes later the suspect awoke.

The suspect then went into the house and grabbed a butcher knife.  Armed with the knife, the suspect chased and threatened to kill his brother.  The rest of the family barricaded themselves while the violence was occurring.  The brother was ultimately able to get away from the suspect who then walked off, but was still armed.

A witness followed the suspect, giving updates of his location until police arrived in the residential area of Cold Creek Way.  Two officers and one sergeant contacted the suspect in an open area near the end of Cold Creek Way.  The suspect did not comply with the officers and the sergeant utilized his CED.  The CED deployment was ineffective.  The suspect then ran off still with the knife in hand.   The chase ended abruptly when the suspect stopped at a fence, turned toward the officers, held the knife in a threatening manner and went toward the officers. 

The officers gave him orders to drop the knife, yet he refused.  During the confrontation, the despondent suspect requested that the officers shoot him. Due to the suspect being armed, his threatening behavior toward the officers, along with his actions to throw the knife at one of them, and the fear for their safety, the two officers shot at the suspect with their duty weapons.  The suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Fire personnel responded to cold Creek Way and transported the suspect to UCD Medical Center where he later died. No family members, residents or police personnel were injured and the knife was recovered at the scene.  The two officers that discharged their firearm will be placed on paid administrative leave per department policy. 

The Sacramento Police Department's Homicide, Internal Affairs, and Crime Scene Investigation Units are conducting this investigation in conjunction with the City's Office of Public Safety Accountability.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone who witnessed this incident to contact the dispatch center at (916) 264-5471 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

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