A video of Oxnard Police Department officers confronting and fatally shooting a knife-wielding man on April 7 on East Bard Rd. reveals they shouted confusing orders in Spanish at the man, according to several community members and a community activist. The video was released by the Oxnard Police Department and it can be seen on: https://youtu.be/aZUF4koU8mo.
Over 20 minutes, the agency’s video includes audio from 911 calls, surveillance footage from a personal security camera and clips from five body-worn cameras recorded by each of the law enforcement officers who responded. “This video is in no way intended to offer an opinion or analysis of what transpired,” Oxnard Police Department Chief Jason Benites said. “Its scope is limited to presenting facts. It is focused only on the incident itself, and not beyond that. saying it was released with the goal of answering questions about the incident and discouraging the spread of misinformation. ” The chief also explained the use of “less lethal” weapons, such as a stun gun and a gun that shoots bean bags, which officers are trained to use as a first line of self-defense. Both were used on Torrez prior to the shooting with a traditional firearm.
The video includes audio from two 911 calls reporting Torrez to law enforcement. The first call is in Spanish from a man who said Torrez was inside a truck that did not belong to Torrez. The second person, a woman speaking in English, said Torrez was threatening her husband with a knife while he was out playing with their children.
“I’m concerned that the police officers in this tragic event gave orders to the suspect that were misleading,” said Denis O’Leary to VIDA Newspaper. O’Leary, a former Oxnard elementary school board trustee and a local teacher for many years, who helped organize Sunday’s Cesar Chavez March in Oxnard, pointed out officers’ shouted orders in Spanish may have conflicted with their orders in English.
“When orders are given to get on the ground, they are followed with ‘salgate abajo’ and ‘salgate,’” O’Leary said. “The safety of the subject and police officers are placed in unwarranted danger”.
“’Salgate abajo’ makes no sense in Spanish, it literally translates into ‘get out below,’ and ‘salgate’ translates into ‘get out,’” O’Leary explained.
“So, if the suspect understood only those commands, he could have very well have following orders by running away and gotten shot in the back while walking away,” O’Leary said.
Although it is not clear whether Torrez was bilingual, O’Leary noted that many Oxnard residents speak only Spanish. “85 percent of Oxnard residents are Latino and many speak only Spanish,” said O’Leary. “I would expect that our police officers would command intelligible instructions in Spanish.”
OPD released a video on Monday, April 17 showing officers confronting Christian Baltazar Torrez, 18, in response to calls about a man threatening others with a knife at an apartment complex on East Bard Road.
Torrez can be seen in the video in an alley approaching the officers with a 3-inch knife, refusing officers’ commands to drop it. He appears to be speaking back to officers but cannot be heard in the video.
As the situation escalates an officer shoot with a taser Torrez, then another officer shoots Torrez with a bean bag, knocking him down, but Torrez tries to gets back up and does not follow orders to “get down.” He is then shot with a handgun by one officer named Jarrod Sheffield in the back 3 or 4 times.
Officers are shown giving Torrez CPR while waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive, but Torrez was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Ventura County Medical Center.
The officer who fatally shot Torrez, has been with the OPD for 2 years and is on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated, as is routine with all fatal shootings.
The other officers involved include Sgt. Todd Johnson, who used a stun gun on Torrez; officer Randi Vines, who fired one beanbag shot; and officers Dan Casse and Kyle Hay, who drew their handguns but did not fire them during the course of the incident. Each has returned to his patrol duties since the incident. None of the police officers involved in this incident are Hispanic or appear to know enough Spanish to be able to communicate fluently.
The video concludes with Benites explaining the procedures for investigating an officer-involved shooting. The department’s Major Crimes Unit conducts a criminal investigation of the incident, and its Professional Standards Division performs an internal investigation to determine whether the use of fatal force was within policy and whether the officer will receive any disciplinary action, the chief said. A third investigation involves the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, which reviews the Major Crimes investigation as well as conducts its own legal review of the event. The DA’s findings are eventually published in a public report.
Anyone with information for police can phone Detective Charles “Chip” Buttell at 805-385-7688 or email him charles.buttell@oxnardpd.org.