A homeless man armed with a machete was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies Friday when they attempted to take him into custody for allegedly threatening park rangers in Jurupa Valley.
The shooting occurred about 7:30 a.m. along the Santa Ana River bottom, near the intersection of Crestmore Road and 34th Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Lt. Deirdre Vickers said rangers from the county Parks & Open Space District were cleaning up an apparent transient encampment when the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, allegedly brandished a machete and a large pipe at them, prompting the rangers to seek assistance from patrol deputies.
“Deputies located the male,” Vickers said. “Deputies gave him commands to drop the weapons, but he refused to comply.”
She said the deputies deployed a less-lethal device to subdue the suspect, but it had no effect.
“The male, still armed with the machete, continued to behave erratic and assaultive toward the deputies, and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” the lieutenant said.
The man was mortally wounded and taken to a Riverside hospital, where he died a short time later.
The deputies weren’t injured, nor were the rangers.
The deputy who fired the fatal shot was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation conducted by the sheriff’s Force Investigations Detail, whose members include District Attorney’s Office personnel. The deputy’s name wasn’t released.
Homeless encampments are strewn throughout the river bottom, both within the city limits of Jurupa Valley and Riverside. The county and city have implemented regulations effectively barring the camps, but while some are dismantled, others take their place year-round.