Video surveillance of California authorities confronting a suspect holding a hostage at knifepoint captured the moment in which a deputy fatally shot him, allowing the hostage to go free.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office released police body camera and security footage of the Feb.9 incident last week. Deputies in Oildale, just outside of Bakersfield, were initially called to respond to an incident in which a man was allegedly assaulting a family member.
TWO ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICERS AND THREE VICTIMS SHOT, ONE FATALLY; SUSPECT ALSO DECEASED
He was also breaking windows, the sheriff’s office said. An additional 911 call moments later requested deputies respond to a business over someone with a sledgehammer and a knife.
The suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Deven Karl Moore, allegedly tried cutting a worker with the knife, according to the 911 call.
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Responding deputies found Moore and followed him as he walked away on a dirt road and refused to stop. He then ran into a shack where a man was inside, authorities said.
Security video from a camera inside the shack apparently shows Moore taking a man hostage. No audio was available from the footage. Both appear to struggle over the weapon.
Footage from the body camera of Deputy Austin Burgess shows him arriving at the scene as other deputies are outside the shack.
“I’ll (expletive) stab him,” Moore is heard saying, according to Burgess’ body camera.
Burgess then allegedly opens fire and two gunshots are heard. The hostage was taken outside unharmed. Authorities said Moore died at the scene.
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Burgess was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office Critical Incident Review Board determined the shooting complied with department policy. The findings of the investigation have been submitted to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.