Antioch man having mental health crisis charges at police with knife, is tasered, shot twice early Friday morning
Officer involved critical incident protocol initiated
By Lieutenant John Fortner, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau
On Friday, April 16, 2021, at approximately 12:50 AM, Antioch police officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 200 block of W. 3rd Street for a 9-1-1 call. The caller reported that a family member was having a mental health crisis, and he was feeling suicidal.
Two officers responded to the call. When the officers arrived, they made their way to the second-story unit. As the officers entered the unit, a male subject emerged from the kitchen holding a knife stating that he wanted to die. As the male subject approached the officers, they started talking to the subject asking him to drop the knife. At the same time, the officers backed away from subject and out of the unit onto the second-story landing. The subject followed the officers outside brandishing the knife, while the officers gave him commands to drop it. The subject turned around, went back into the apartment and closed the front door.
The officers created time and distance by moving away from the apartment in accordance with their training. The male suddenly exited the apartment and charged at them with the knife still in his hand. The subject did not comply with the officers’ commands to drop the knife or stop, and he continued to charge at them. One officer used his Taser, but it was not effective, and the subject continued to charge at the officers. The second officer fired his department issued pistol two times striking the subject twice.
The subject fell on the landing and dropped the knife. Afterwards, the officers called for emergency medical personnel to respond as they administered first aid to the subject. The subject was transported to a local area hospital and is currently in stable condition.
Due to the circumstances surrounding this incident, the countywide Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incident (LEIFI) protocol was initiated. Antioch Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigators and Detectives with the Investigations Bureau, along with a team of Deputy District Attorneys and Inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigators responded to the scene and took over the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.
