LOS ANGELES, CA – A man in his mid-40s died Saturday after a Santa Monica police officer shot him in Palisades Park, where authorities said he advanced toward officers with a knife and ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon.
The shooting happened at about 12:49 p.m. in the 1400 block of Palisades Park, near Ocean Avenue.
According to Santa Monica Police Chief Darrick Jacob, officers had originally been called to the area to investigate a reported domestic violence incident.
They were interviewing witnesses when a man who police said had no connection to the original call approached while armed with a knife.
Jacob said officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon.
“The suspect ignored repeated commands to drop the knife and continued to advance toward the officers,” Jacob said. “One officer discharged their firearm, striking the individual.”
Police have not said how far the man was from officers when the shooting occurred, how many shots were fired or whether he said anything immediately before the officer opened fire.
A knife was recovered at the scene.
Jacob said he had not personally examined it at the time of his briefing but had been told it was a large knife.
Officers began emergency medical treatment immediately after the shooting.
Personnel from the Santa Monica Fire Department then continued lifesaving care before the man was transported to a hospital.
He was pronounced dead at approximately 1:49 p.m., about an hour after the initial police response.
No officers were injured.
Police also said no bystanders were hurt and that there was no continuing threat to the public after the incident.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Authorities said only that he was believed to be in his mid-40s.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner is expected to release his name after formal identification and notification of his relatives.
Police have not said what prompted the man to approach the officers.
Jacob also declined to characterize his mental condition.
Asked whether the man may have been homeless, the chief said there were indications he could have been transient but cautioned against drawing conclusions about his mental state.
“There’s some indications that the subject may be transient, but we’re not going to make any judgment about his mental capabilities at this particular time,” Jacob said. “We just don’t know enough about the situation.”
That remains one of several unanswered questions in the investigation.
Authorities have not said where the man had been immediately before the confrontation, whether officers had noticed him earlier or whether anyone had reported seeing him with the knife before he approached.
The shooting unfolded in one of Santa Monica’s most heavily visited public spaces.
Palisades Park runs along the bluff above the beach and is regularly crowded with residents, tourists, joggers and pedestrians.
Several people staying across Ocean Avenue said they heard the gunfire and then watched the emergency response from nearby buildings.
Miguel Evereteze and Byankha Cavazos were staying at a property across the street when they heard what Evereteze described as a sudden “pop.”
He said what stood out afterward was that people nearby did not initially run.
Evereteze later watched officers perform CPR and other emergency care on the wounded man.
“I did see the police officers offering care to him,” he said. “They did that for a long time, honestly.”
Cavazos said witnessing the aftermath was unsettling because she had never previously seen an incident like it.
Other visitors said the location itself made the shooting particularly disturbing.
Palisades Park and Ocean Avenue are among Santa Monica’s most recognizable tourist areas, and the shooting occurred in the middle of a Saturday afternoon while visitors were eating, walking and spending time nearby.
Police established a large perimeter following the shooting and temporarily restricted access to portions of the park while investigators documented the scene.
The Santa Monica Police Department is now reviewing multiple sources of evidence as investigators reconstruct the confrontation.
That review includes body-worn camera footage from officers, surveillance video from nearby businesses and witness statements.
Those recordings may help establish how quickly the encounter developed, the man’s movements, the officers’ commands and the distance between the parties immediately before the shooting.
Police have not yet released the body-camera footage.
The department also has not publicly identified the officer who fired.
Authorities have not said whether more than one officer drew a weapon or whether any other form of force was attempted before the gunfire.
The investigation will also examine whether the officer’s actions complied with department policy governing deadly force.
Santa Monica’s Police Department policies and procedures require officers to assess threats based on the circumstances confronting them at the time and to use force consistent with law and departmental rules.
The fact that a knife was recovered and that police say the man advanced toward officers will form part of that review, but investigators will still need to assess the complete video and physical evidence.
Witness accounts may also prove significant.
Investigators are expected to compare statements from officers and bystanders with available video to determine precisely what happened in the seconds before the shooting.
Police have not announced whether nearby surveillance footage clearly captured the confrontation itself.
The underlying domestic violence call is considered unrelated to the man who was killed.
Authorities have not released details about that original incident because it is separate from the officer-involved shooting.
The distinction is important because officers were not initially dispatched to Palisades Park because of the armed man.
Instead, according to Jacob, the confrontation developed while they were already on scene conducting another investigation.
Police have also not said whether the man had any prior contact with Santa Monica officers.
No information has been released about possible drugs, alcohol or other factors, and none should be assumed while the investigation remains incomplete.
The case now moves into the evidence-review phase.
Investigators will examine the recovered knife, body-camera recordings, surveillance footage, witness statements and any other physical evidence collected from the park.
The medical examiner will separately determine and document the man’s cause and manner of death.
Santa Monica police said additional information will be released as it becomes available.
For now, authorities have confirmed that the man was not connected to the domestic violence call, that he was armed with a knife, that police say he ignored repeated commands to drop it and continued advancing, and that one officer fired.
No officers or members of the public were injured.
The investigation remains ongoing.
