Las Vegas, Nevada — On Friday, August 25, 2023, at approximately 1:04 a.m., LVMPD Dispatch received a call from a man stating his sister had battered him. He provided an address to an apartment located in the 3600 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard. A few minutes later his sister 25-year-old Sandra Lopez- Ochoa also reported a domestic disturbance through communications center. Officer Sacba and his partner responded and contacted Lopez-Ochoa’s brother, who was waiting outside of the apartment. After speaking with him, officers had probable cause to arrest Lopez-Ochoa for domestic strangulation. Officer Sacba and his partner contacted Lopez-Ochoa inside of the apartment where she was sitting on a couch in the living room.

After a few minutes of speaking with her, she stood up and an officer grabbed her left arm to place her in handcuffs. Lopez-Ochoa then reached down toward the couch where she was sitting and produced a knife. She quickly turned toward the officer who was holding her arm and stabbed him on top of his head. Lopez-Ochoa then turned toward Officer Sacba while armed with the knife. Officer Sacba drew his firearm and discharged his duty weapon toward Lopez-Ochoa. She was struck by gunfire and fell to the ground. Medical personnel were summoned for both, the officer and for Lopez-Ochoa. The officer was transported to UMC Trauma where he was provided medical treatment. He was later discharged from the hospital and is now home recovering with his family. Lopez-Ochoa was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel.

Daytona Beach, Florida — On April 8, 2023, around 2:10 a.m., Daytona Beach Police Department received a burglary report from a local car dealership. The caller said that a man armed with a tennis racket had been burglarizing a vehicle, prompting officers to respond to the scene. A K-9 officer arrived and began searching for the suspect, later identified as 57-year-old Richard O'Donnell, eventually discovering him nearby with the tennis racket still in hand. According to the DBPD, the K-9 officer identified as Officer Joshua Martin, gave O'Donnell multiple commands to get on the ground and cooperate. Ignoring these orders and showing heightened aggression, the police K-9, Vezer, was released to assist in apprehending him.

O'Donnell used the racket against Vezer while also kicking him, and then made attempts to choke the K-9 by wrapping both his legs and arms around the dog's neck. As the K-9 attacks O'Donnell, the cop grabs the racket and begins to beat O'Donnell's head with it, striking him numerous times. Officers also used a Taser on O'Donnell, according to reports. Eventually, officers were able to apprehend O'Donnell and secure the K-9. O'Donnell was taken to the hospital after the arrest to be treated for his injuries. O'Donnell, was charged with burglary of a conveyance, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting an officer with violence. He was released after posting $12,000 bail on June 21.

A man who was seen by police attacking a person was fatally shot by officers Tuesday morning after ignoring their commands to stop, authorities said.

The incident unfolded around 11:10 a.m. in the 7600 block of Reseda Boulevard in Reseda.

A knife allegedly used in a stabbing in Reseda on July 25, 2023, is shown in a photo released by the LAPD.

Responding officers found the suspect on top of the victim while holding a knife, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He failed to comply with officers, who eventually used less lethal rounds to try and subdue him.

Instead, the assailant began stabbing the victim again, prompting officers to shoot him.

The suspect, described only as a Hispanic man in his 20s or 30s, was declared dead at the scene.

La Mesa, California — On Sunday, August 6, 2023, two La Mesa Police Officers contacted a suspect who had an active felony warrant for burglary in the parking lot of a condominium complex at 8000 University Avenue. Officers had confirmed the status of the subject’s felony warrant and obtained a photograph of the suspect prior to contacting him. At approximately 4:13 p.m., the officers saw the suspect standing outside of the passenger side of a vehicle parked in the lot. When officers contacted the suspect, he took out a handgun and pointed it directly at an officer who was standing in front of the vehicle. It appears the suspect tried to fire at the officer multiple times but the firearm malfunctioned.

In response, one officer discharged his firearm multiple times at the suspect as he ran through the parking lot. As the suspect continued to run towards University Avenue, it appeared the suspect was trying to manipulate or clear the firearm of the malfunction. The officer discharged his firearm, striking the suspect in the upper body multiple times. This incapacitated the suspect and caused him to drop the firearm. Officers rendered first aid and called for paramedics but the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. The preliminary investigation into this incident indicates a passing vehicle was struck by a round but the motorist in that vehicle was not struck. There was also at least one round that struck a building within the lot. No officers or other persons were injured during this incident.

The suspect in this incident has been identified as Jason Hampton of La Mesa. He is described as a 41-year-old white male. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Brian Heller. He has been employed by the La Mesa Police Department for approximately six years. He is currently assigned as a Master Patrol Officer in La Mesa and has been placed on paid leave per the La Mesa Police Department’s standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting incident. The second officer present did not fire his weapon during this incident. Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego Police Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved-shooting investigation. Detectives are continuing to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. A loaded 9mm handgun was recovered at the scene.

The family of a Tulare man killed by police released video this week they said shows he was not a threat to officers, who shot him in the back as he fled. Joel Villegas was killed by Tulare police about 3:15 p.m. April 16 after a 911 caller reported seeing someone in the area of Bardsley Ave and Vetter Street with a knife, Tulare police said in a news release. Villegas, 34, was remembered by family as a doting father and a person others wanted to be around because he made them smile. “What they did was wrong,” older brother Armando Villegas said. “It was unfair to his wife and kids and family. He mattered.” His family released video from a Tulare officer’s body-worn camera that shows the officer yelling commands as Villegas runs away from him. At one point he trips, before getting up again and continuing to flee. The video shows Villegas never advanced on police before officers fired several rounds. Officers in the video can be heard saying Villegas was not breathing before an officer begins CPR. The shooting was “so egregious,” according to Dale Galipo, the attorney representing one of Villegas’s sons and his father.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials report that on August 15, 2023, at about 6:45 p.m., San Diego Police Department detectives were serving a search warrant san diego county sheriff department logofor an apartment in the 6100 block of El Cajon Blvd in San Diego. The subject of the search warrant was identified by their detectives as the outstanding suspect in a shooting that occurred on August 2, 2023. That shooting was the catalyst for the radio call that SDPD responded to, and eventually ended in an OIS at Mesa College.

SDPD detectives set up a perimeter on the apartment building and conducted a contain and call-out procedure. They made phone calls into the apartment, did call-outs directly outside of the apartment and gave verbal commands and warnings. The suspect eventually exited the apartment with a loaded handgun in his hand. Officers gave the suspect commands to drop the gun, which he eventually did. Officers gave the suspect commands to move away from the handgun which was on the ground near his feet. The suspect refused and kept looking at the gun. Despite multiple warnings and commands from the officers, the suspect quickly lunged to grab the gun. This prompted one of the officers to discharge his firearm multiple times. The suspect was struck multiple times and went to the ground. Officers provided medical aid, but the suspect succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by paramedics around 7:00 p.m.

The Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy. The preliminary results for the cause of death are gunshot wounds; the manner is homicide. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Xavier Benjamine Lacosta. His last known address was in the city of San Diego.

Lacosta was previously arrested and convicted of 23152(B) VC – Driving under the influence and 11377(A) HS – Possession of methamphetamine.

No officers or civilians were injured. The officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Gregory Simon. He has been employed by the San Diego Police Department since September of 2016. He is currently assigned to the Special Operations Unit.

To view the previous press release dated August 16, 2023, click links below.

Per the Countywide Memorandum of Understanding, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homicide Unit was called to the scene to conduct the officer-involved-shooting investigation. At this stage of the investigation, the circumstances of the shooting are still under investigation. Detectives are currently gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The investigation and review process for officer-involved shootings are extremely thorough. When the Homicide Unit completes its investigation, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any state criminal liability for their actions. The San Diego Police Department will conduct an administrative investigation into the officer’s discharge of his firearm. The Commission on Police Practices (CPP) will conduct a review of the incident and provide any appropriate recommendations. The Department of Justice was notified of the above incident.

Newly released video footage and police reports offer more details in an incident that resulted in the July 24 shooting of an armed man by a state police officer outside a Tesuque residence.

Galen Mason-Muller of Algodones faces two charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer and a charge of aggravated burglary.

State police have not yet released the name of the officer who shot Mason-Muller, 23. A news release issued by the agency in the days after the incident said the officer’s identity would not be released until interviews with those involved were completed.

The officer was placed on administrative leave.

Mason-Muller’s girlfriend made a call for a welfare check after the two had been arguing. She told dispatchers he was going to her house on N.M. 529 “to kill himself or hurt someone,” a report from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office states.

Warning: This video contains graphic scenes of an officer-involved shooting. Viewer discretion is advised.

His girlfriend’s mother testified in a Tuesday hearing the suspect had chased her through her house, grabbing at her. She called it “unbelievable” and said she was worried for her daughter.

Dash camera footage from a Santa Fe County deputy shows the tense scene that unfolded between law enforcement officials and Mason-Muller outside the home for about 20 minutes before he was shot.

A deputy arrived at the scene to find Mason-Muller standing near the residence on the opposite side of a short stucco wall that covered his hands and lower body from view, the video shows. Mason-Muller’s girlfriend can be seen kneeling on the driveway several feet away, facing him with her hands together in a pleading gesture.

For several minutes, officers and deputies asked for Mason-Muller’s name and ordered him to show his hands, but he remained behind the wall. Mason-Muller yelled out to the officers, but his voice cannot be heard in the video. Officers said in reports that Mason-Muller was telling them to shoot him.

After he walked out from behind the stucco wall, officers noted an apparent tan-colored gun in Mason-Muller’s left hand. They repeatedly yelled for Mason-Muller to drop the object as he slowly walked to the driveway, closer to where his girlfriend was sitting.

About 20 minutes into the standoff, at least one state police officer fired at Mason-Muller, sending him to the ground.

A deputy reported hearing two shots from state police officers.

Mason-Muller’s gun did not fire, officers testified.

A supplemental report filed by a deputy who was at the scene described Mason-Muller as holding his gun in a “low ready” position. State police Officer James George Tremann also testified during a Tuesday preliminary hearing in District Court he had seen Mason-Muller hold the gun in the “low ready” position.

Tremann described the position as indicating “person establishing a stronger base” and demonstrated it by holding both hands together just above waist level. “He took a stronger firing stance more than once,” Tremann said of Mason-Muller.

After Mason-Muller was shot, his girlfriend started toward his body when a deputy yelled to her to get away.

Mason-Muller was transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, in the custody of two deputies, following the shooting, according to reports from the agency.

Mason-Muller appeared on a video conference call for a preliminary hearing Tuesday from a hospital bed, but was unable to testify. The hearing was continued to later this month.

Attorney Dan Marlowe, who is representing Mason-Muller, said his client suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm.

“It looks to me like they weren’t trying to kill him,” Marlowe said, adding Mason-Muller was “in serious pain” from the injury.

Marlowe said Mason-Muller was “not a violent guy, but he’s got some mental problems.”

Silver Spring, Maryland — On July 22, 2023, at approximately 10:35 a.m., officers with the Montgomery County Police Department responded to a business in the 12200 block of Veirs Mill Road for the report of a stabbing. Once on scene, they located one adult woman stabbing victim. Approximately one minute after the first 911 call a second 911 call was received for two women stabbed in the 4100 block of Colie Drive. Upon officers’ arrival, they located two women suffering from stab wounds and discovered an adult male suffering from a superficial stab wound. Officers obtained a description of the male suspect and began canvassing the area for him.

At least one officer located a man matching the description armed with a knife in the 4300 block of Havard Street. The suspect was later identified as 19-year-old Franklin Castro Ordonez of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Body cam footage shows Officer Justin Lee gave commands for Castro Ordonez to drop the knife, but he did not comply and then advanced toward the Officer Lee while holding the knife. Officer Lee discharged his firearm several times striking Castro Ordonez. Officers called for EMS and performed CPR. Castro Ordonez was pronounced dead on scene. A knife was recovered near Castro Ordonez at the shooting scene. No officers were injured. Three of the stabbing victims were taken to area hospitals. The fourth victim was treated on the scene and released.