Cops Take Down Man Armed With Screwdriver

This is the moment a deputy sheriff takes down a man by shooting him in the leg after he had earlier tried to set his sister’s place on fire and then almost ran over police officers.

A photo of the metal screwdriver Trinidad Velasco, 46 had as a weapon when LA police officers shot him at the 14000 block of Crystal Lantern Drive, in the Unincorporated area of Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, California on the 1st of April, 2022. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department/Newsflash)

The incident happened when the man, identified as 56-year-old Trinidad Velasco, was reported by his sister as attempting to set fire to her property at the 14000 block of Crystal Lantern Drive, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, California.

The sheriff’s deputies arrived at the emergency call and noticed Valasco sitting in the driver’s seat of a ford pickup. Verbal attempts made by the deputies to make him come down proved abortive.

Instead, he accelerated the pickup suddenly and zoomed off with two deputies having to avoid the fleeing suspect.

After a short chase, the suspect made a U-turn back to the crime scene.

This time he approached a neighbour standing near the building while making unintelligible remarks at the deputies commanding him to surrender.

The image shows Trinidad Velasco, 46, in an undated mugshot photo. He was shot by LA police officers at the 14000 block of Crystal Lantern Drive, in the Unincorporated area of Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, California on the 1st of April, 2022. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department/Newsflash)

He was visibly holding a metal object, later discovered to be a 6-inch screwdriver which he held on to even after a deputy fired two 40mm Arwen rubber projectiles at him, which had almost no effect on him.

The tide turned when a deputy fired a gunshot and then went to administer first aid.

After that, the Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics administered medical support. He was taken later to a local hospital for further treatment.

The sheriff deputy who fired the gunshot was identified as Deputy Ernest Magana. Further investigations by relevant bodies are ongoing to determine if the forceful shooting did not violate criminal law.