RICHMOND — At least one Richmond police officer shot and killed someone who allegedly ran at officers with an empty sheath during a warrant service Tuesday night.
Police say the person — identified so far only as a male, but not by age or name — carried a sheath that “looked like” a knife, but wasn’t one.
The California Attorney General’s Office announced it is investigating under a state law that allows it to probe incidents where police fatally shoot someone who wasn’t armed with a deadly weapon.
The police shooting occurred a little before 9 p.m. on Tuesday near the 300 block of Carlson Boulevard in south Richmond. Police had earlier responded to an area across the railroad tracks on the 2700 block of Maine Avenue.
A Richmond police news release says officers showed up around 8:15 p.m. and were attempting to arrest a person on suspicion of violating their probation by committing an act of domestic violence.
The person refused to surrender. He was shot roughly 30 minutes into the standoff. The news release says officers spent the half-hour attempting to de-escalate the situation before killing the person.
Contra Costa County launched its own protocol, invoked any time a person is killed by police or dies in police custody countywide. As part of the county’s investigation, the sheriff will hold coroner’s inquest where a local jury will look into the matter.
Police haven’t said how many officers fired, or named any of the officers who did. The news release says the department is “committed” to a “thorough and transparent” investigation.
This is the first police killing this year in Contra Costa.
