Sheriff’s Office releases bodycam footage of man shot by deputies in Camarillo
This article has been updated to reflect that the man died in the hospital on Oct. 17.
CAMARILLO, Calif. - The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released body camera footage Monday of an incident in early October in which a man was shot by deputies.
It happened Sunday, Oct. 3 after a 24-year-old Camarillo man called 911 to report that he was feeling suicidal.
Sheriff Bill Ayub appears in the newly-released video detailing the events leading up to the shooting.
In audio of the call released by the sheriff's office, the man is heard telling dispatch of his intentions to kill himself. The man told dispatchers that he had both a gun and a knife in his possession.
At one point during the call, the man appears to become agitated and says he is going to "start hurting people." The sheriff's dispatcher is heard attempting to get the man to put the gun down before deputies arrived on scene, but the man is heard on the audio clip refusing to do so, saying he wanted to be shot by police. The call ends shortly after a deputy arrives on scene and the caller is heard telling dispatch that he is "sorry about this."
Bodycam footage from Deputy Robert Medina shows the deputy arm himself with a rifle and take a position behind the door of his vehicle. On multiple occasions he is heard telling the man to put down the gun. The man is heard on the bodycam footage telling deputies to kill him.
Deputy Medina and deputy Greg Tougas fired on the man, after they say he pointed the gun in their direction. Both deputies are heard on audio repeatedly telling the man to stop before shots are fired. After the man is shot and incapacitated, deputy Medina is heard on the recording calling for paramedics.
The man was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The man, later identified as 24-year-old Austin Manzano, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died two weeks after the shooting on Oct. 17.
Slow motion footage from deputy Tougas' bodycam is narrated by Sheriff Ayub. In this footage, Ayub says Manzano can be seen raising his arm and pointing the gun towards deputy Medina.
Following the shooting, it was discovered that Manzano's gun was actually a replica pistol. Both the knife and the pistol were dropped after the man was shot.
Ayub says that deputy Medina requested another deputy to bring a "less-lethal" bean bag shotgun. However, Ayub says the incident unfolded quickly and the shooting happened before the the less-lethal device was brought out.
At the conclusion of the video, Ayub says three investigations are immediately launched anytime a deputy is involved in a shooting.
The sheriff says the Ventura County Sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau will conduct a "thorough investigation" of the entire incident. An administrative investigation will determine if the deputies actions were lawful and in accordance with the sheriff's office protocol and the Ventura County District Attorney's Office will also investigate whether or not the deputies' use of force was justified, Ayub said.
Ayub says the sheriff's office will not draw any conclusions regarding the deputies' actions until the investigations are completed.
The video from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office can be seen below. The video may be hard to watch for some.
