The man carrying a tire iron who was shot to death by two Corona police officers early Tuesday, Nov. 18, twice approached them, even trotting toward them after a first volley of gunfire, a video of the confrontation shows.
The video, shot from a home across Promenade Street and obtained by the freelance news organization OC Hawk, also shows the officers backpedaling both times as they fired. They could be heard shouting, “Put it down!” over and over as they pointed their guns at the man.
The man, whose name had not been released, was pronounced dead in the parking lot of the Applebee’s restaurant on McKinley Street.
Sgt. Robert Montanez, a Police Department spokesman, said that for reasons under investigation the man crashed his sedan into a pickup truck in the parking lot. He got out of the car and walked around the lot, wielding a tire iron, Montanez said. This happened minutes after 12 a.m., the restaurant’s listed closing time.
Police received 911 calls at 12:18 a.m. about the man.
The video initially shows the man walking along McKinley. The video cuts out, and then the man is seen on the east side of the restaurant, bending down and picking up the tire iron.
Officers arrive and repeatedly order the man to drop it, but he fails to do so, the video shows. He approaches them, prompting the officers to fire about six shots as they retreat.
It was unclear whether the man was hit.
He stays on his feet, and after apparently ignoring additional demands to drop the tool, walks briskly toward the officers, who fire about 10 more rounds. The man slowly goes down to the pavement, yet he remains seated upright as the video ends.
Warning: This video shows graphic content.
The pickup’s driver was hospitalized, police said, for moderate injuries. Montanez declined to share any statements by the driver because of the investigation.
The sedan had left-front damage, and the pickup was rumpled on the driver’s door.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and Corona police are investigating the shooting.
