Escondido police fatally shoot man who was hitting cars with metal pry bar

An Escondido police officer fatally shot a man armed with a metal tool Wednesday morning, a deadly encounter that comes amid intensifying public scrutiny of police use of force and about six weeks after the department announced policies to de-escalate tense situations.

Police Chief Ed Varso said the man was carrying a roughly 2-foot-long pry bar when he charged an officer, who backed away and gave warnings before opening fire. Varso also said the man has a two-decade history of arrests, coupled with several attempts to get him mental health assistance.

In a video statement posted on YouTube late Wednesday afternoon, the chief described the fatal encounter and said the department would be transparent about what happened and would share video footage from cameras worn by officers at the scene.

“As soon as possible, we will be releasing portions of those videos to provide the public of a better understanding of what happened,” he said.

According to Varso, someone called 911 about 7 a.m. to report a man with a pry bar striking vehicles on Broadway near Second Avenue. An officer arrived and tried to talk with the man. At that point, the chief said, the man “was not displaying any threatening behavior, and not posing a threat to police or the public.”

The man ran off. A second officer soon found him nearby, walking in the street and carrying the tool, Varso said. As the officer got out of his car, the man charged him “in a threatening manner.”

“The officer gave multiple commands to drop the tool, as well as several use-of-force warnings,” Varso said. “The male continued to advance on the officer, who was backing away, and he was ultimately shot.”

Within seconds, other officers were at the scene. They rendered medical aid to the man, until paramedics took him to the hospital, where he died.

A metal pry bar lays on the ground as evidence as Escondido Police Department investigators survey the scene where an officer shot and killed a man on the corner of Second Avenue and Broadway.

(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Authorities have not released the man’s name, but Varso said he is “well known” to Escondido police, with 188 arrests in nearly 20 years, including “violent assaults on police and the public, parole violations, drug charges, vandalism and a host of other property crimes.”

He said there had been numerous attempts by the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team — mental health professionals who work with police — to get him into the mental health system.

“Just this year, we have already responded to over 20 calls for service regarding this individual.” Varso said.

Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Toth said the man, who is White, was believed to be homeless.

The name of the officer who opened fire was not immediately released, but Toth said the officer is a veteran who has been with the department for several years.

Initial reports indicated that people arrived at work in the area to find the man attacking parked cars. A member of a Facebook group page about crime in Escondido posted that he was the one who called police because the man was threatening his co-workers. The group member did not go into detail online, and did not respond to messages from the Union-Tribune.

State law calls for law enforcement agencies to release video of fatal encounters or other critical incidents within 45 days unless it would impede the investigation.

Police use of force has come under increased scrutiny during the last year following the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt with his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. On Tuesday, a jury convicted the former police officer, Derek Chauvin, of second-degree murder.

Andrew Patten carries a sign while joining about thirty protesters that rallied out front of the Escondido Police Station in the late afternoon after officers shot and killed a man earlier Wednesday morning. Police said the man was carrying a metal tool when he charged an officer.

(Don Boomer/Don Boomer)

An activist group, We the People Escondido, called for rally Wednesday afternoon outside police headquarters. Protesters demanded the release of the officers’ body-camera footage, and to know more about how the officers approached the situation.

“We are looking for full accountability from the officer, and for footage to be released sooner rather than later so there is full transparency with citizens,” group founder Leyel Malave said.

“We also believe citizens shouldn’t be dying in the streets by the hands of police,” she said.

The shooting comes about about six weeks after the department established a stand-alone de-escalation policy, in hopes of preventing violent encounters between the public and police. De-escalation concepts were already found throughout Escondido’s police policies, but the department codified them into one policy.

Escondido Police Department investigators search for shell casings across the street from where a metal pry bar could be seen on the ground after an officer shot and killed a man on the corner of Second Avenue and Broadway who they said was hitting cars with the object.

(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Since the law changed last year, California has had one of the highest use-of-force standards in the nation. Law enforcement officers can use deadly force when “necessary,” when their life or the lives of others are in imminent danger and when there is no other alternative to de-escalate the situation, such as using nonlethal methods. Before, the standard had been when the officer believed there was “reasonable” fear of imminent harm.

Wednesday’s incident marked the first shooting by Escondido police since last year, when an officer opened fire on a man charging him with a crow bar. The man survived his wounds from the June 19 encounter, and was sentenced last week to four years in prison on charges including assault with a deadly weapon on police officer. Police released body camera and surveillance video images 42 days after the encounter.

The last fatal shooting by an Escondido police officer was in 2018, when a call regarding a family disturbance on the north end of the city led to a chase that ended outside the doors of Valley View Casino. The suspect jumped out of the car, gun in hand. A confrontation followed, and he was fatally shot.