Body cam released after Hayward officers shoot and kill an armed 37-year-old man with a BB gun
By: Hayward police on Thursday released officer-worn body-camera footage from when police fatally shot a man armed with a BB gun.
The shooting happened on the evening of Sept. 6 at Foothill Boulevard and City Center Drive. Police said the footage had been withheld until now to preserve the integrity of the investigation.
Police initially said they received reports of a person brandishing a gun. However, it ended up being a BB gun. Witnesses who knew the man told KTVU the man shot and killed, who has now been identified as Antonio Lacunas-Escobar, 37, of Hayward, would sometimes carry a fake gun.
When police held a news conference the day after the shooting, they said a witness said Escobar pointed a firearm in the direction of the officers.
Police said a Safeway security guard told them a man matching Escobar's description was trying to steal items from the store. That's when they conducted a search, located Escobar, and began to engage with him.
Two officers discharged their weapons in response to a perceived threat, Acting Police Chief Bryan Matthews said. In their video presentation of the shooting and in an updated news release, police said the suspect reached for what they thought was a pistol and pointed it in the direction of the officers.
None of the footage police provided shows this moment. Escobar appears to be walking away from police and is at a great distance.
Video of multiple angles from the incident shows officers telling Escobar to not move and to "quit grabbing." They determine he is not complying. They open fire from a distance. Escobar was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Police said none of the officers involved were injured.