According to a video from the Riverside County, California Sheriff’s Department, a 33-year-old mentally ill man carrying a spiked bat was fatally shot by deputies on February 6 at a Moreno Valley residence. The mother of Jesus Antonio Rodriguez called the operator at around 12.30 pm, saying that her “5150 kid” had been acting more aggressive and out of control, according to the audio recording of the conversation.

According to the 5150 police code, if mentally unstable individuals are considered a risk to themselves or others, they may be locked up without their consent for psychiatric examination. In the edited footage, Riverside County Sheriff, Chad Bianco, claims that the mother had seen her son smoking an unidentified substance while inebriated. 

When the deputies arrived at the house, Rodriguez ran to his bedroom, which had no door, and started to yell at the deputies. On the footage, according to Sheriff Bianco, cops can be seen standing at the doorway and trying to defuse the situation by talking to the man, who is still behaving in an aggressive manner. The sounds of screaming and glass smashing can also be heard.

Rodriguez then grabs hold of a 30-inch spiked wooden club as two armed cops repeatedly tell him to “drop it,” in body cam video from the first deputy. Rodriguez keeps swinging the weapon and can be heard urging them to go on and shoot him, and one deputy orders the other to use his taser. Rodriguez rejects the deputy’s final request to drop the club.

Rodriguez gets tased twice, but there appears to be no noticeable impact and he keeps approaching until both officers come within reach of his wooden club, according to the audio and video evidence. The first deputy then fires three gunfire rounds at Rodriguez on camera as Rodriguez swings at the other cop. The deputies reportedly rendered aid to the man, but to no avail, and Rodriguez was confirmed dead at the scene. 

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is overseeing the investigation into the incident, which will ultimately be reviewed by other agencies. Family members later said that the victim had been having a mental health episode. The victim’s sister, Isabel Rodriguez, disclosed to a media outlet that the police had been to the house many times before and knew he was schizophrenic.