Sacramento Sheriff's Office deputy shoots, kills machete-wielding man
SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office has opened an investigation after a deputy shot and killed a machete-wielding man this morning near the Fruitridge Park neighborhood.
The Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to a call from someone who said their family member was suicidal and had a machete.
Lt. Rod Grassmann says deputies arrived around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when they saw the 55-year-old suspect in the front of the home holding the machete.
They say the deputy told the man to drop the weapon, but he did not comply. That's when deputies say he advanced on the deputy before being shot and killed.
It's unclear how many shots were fired or how the suspect advanced on the officer.
"Once the shots were fired the deputy rendered medical aid to that subject and did CPR until fire arrived," Lt. Grassmann said.
Chovan, the suspect's daughter, tells CBS Sacramento that her father did not need to die and that he was having a mental health crisis.
"So instead of the police going for their left side Taser, they went for their right side gun and shot my dad three times. They Killed him."
In an interview with CBS Sacramento, Chovan called on leaders to take action to have law enforcement be retrained.
"If you're in a mental health crisis, they're going to shoot you down," Chovan said.
Chovan says her father was a landscaper in the Sacramento area for more than 30 years.
"He was not a bad guy. He was a genuine, respectful, hardworking, loving man, who was having a mental health crisis, and the police came, and they killed him," Chovan said.
Several agencies are investigating, including the Office of Inspector General, the District Attorney's Office, and the Attorney General's Office.