A 26-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday by Riverside police officers when he allegedly pulled a pistol as they attempted to question him while he sat in a car outside an apartment complex.
Ryan Joseph Smith of San Bernardino was killed in the shooting about 1:50 a.m. Wednesday in the 3600 block of Banbury Drive, near Magnolia Avenue, on the west end of the city, according to the Riverside Police Department.
Agency spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said patrol officers were summoned to conduct an “occupied vehicle check” after Smith parked in the driveway of the location, for reasons unclear.
“During the contact, the suspect produced a firearm, and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Railsback said. “The suspect was then taken to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.”
No officers were injured.
The matter was turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Force Investigations Detail, whose personnel will be assisted by the District Attorney’s Office in analyzing the circumstances and determining whether the deadly shooting was justified.
Railback didn’t say whether the officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave.