Authorities: Homeless Man Shot In San Clemente Grabbed Deputy's Firearm
SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA) – A homeless man who was fatally shot in an encounter with Orange County Sheriff's deputies attempted to grab one of the deputies' firearms, authorities said Thursday, as several protesters were arrested and a curfew was put into place for portions of San Clemente.
Sheriff Don Barnes told reporters at an afternoon news conference that 42-year-old Kurt Reinhold appeared to try to bring a deputy's gun out of its holster during an encounter with deputies Wednesday afternoon in front of the Hotel Miramar.
A witness told investigators they heard a deputy shout "He's got my gun!" at least four times, Barnes said.
The deputies performed CPR, but Reinhold died at the scene.
"During their contact, a physical altercation occurred," Barnes said. "During the physical altercation Mr. Reinhold grabbed one of the deputies' weapons and appeared to have tried to bring it out of the holster. It's not clear from the video if Mr. Reinhold was able to completely unholster the weapon. That will be part of the Orange County District Attorney's Office investigation."
Surveillance video obtained by CBSLA shows Reinhold struggling with deputies while on the ground.
While he did confirm Reinhold was homeless, Barnes declined to go into any further details about Reinhold. The man's last confirmed address was in Los Angeles.
The deputies involved -- 8-year and 13-year veterans of the homeless liaison team -- have been placed on leave pending the investigation. Their training includes crisis intervention and de-escalation, the sheriff said.
Locals told CBSLA Reinhold frequents the area and shortly before he was killed had gone inside a nearby store to buy some food.
Meanwhile, five people were arrested in San Clemente Thursday as dozens of protesters gathered to demonstrate against the fatal shooting.
At around 11:30 a.m., deputies swarmed protesters in the area of El Camino Real and Avenida San Gabriel.
The arrests included vandalism of a police car, Barnes said.
Late Thursday, San Clemente City Council held an emergency meeting to enact a curfew for certain areas in San Clemente near the incident from 9 p.m. Thursday through 6 a.m. Friday.