Questions remained Saturday after a 23-year-old man was killed by law enforcement during an attempted arrest the city of Riverside.
Jaque Rabon of Loma Linda, in San Bernardino County, died in a parking lot at 3782 Tyler St. — in the Magnolia Tyler Shopping Center — around 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
According to the department, Rabon was a documented gang member who was wanted for a felony no-bail warrant on suspicion of robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Personnel assigned to the sheriff’s department Specialized Enforcement Division attempted to make the arrest, during which, “a lethal force encounter occurred and Rabon succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The sheriff’s department offered no explanation as to why deadly force was used.
Print and media news outlets reported that Rabon had been shot to death.
No deputies or bystanders were injured.
Tyesha Moody, the man’s mother, and spoke to ABC7 at the scene, saying “He wasn’t doing enough to get killed.” She said Rabon was misunderstood but was a “very sweet” person with a “good heart.”
The Riverside Police Department responded to the scene, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which stated that the California Department of Justice also responded, and assumed the investigation.
“Although our department will not be able to release additional details due to the Department of Justice assuming the investigation, I want our citizens to know that the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is fully cooperating with their investigation,” Sheriff Shannon D. Dicus said the in the statement.
Dicus said further inquiries should be directed to the state DOJ at 916-210-2871.