Sheriff's office releases body camera footage of Thousand Oaks shooting

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage Wednesday of a deputy in Thousand Oaks shooting a man who appeared to be holding a knife and aiming what officials described as a bow at a deputy.

In the nearly five-minute video, Sheriff Jim Fryhoff talks about the shooting before and after body camera footage of two deputies is shown. Fryhoff said the investigation was in its early stages and could take up to a year to complete.

The sheriff said that deputies from the Thousand Oaks station attempted to detain a pedestrian in the 2000 block of Avenida De Los Arboles at 6:30 a.m. on June 30.

The person, later identified as Adan Perez Hernandez, was believed to be armed with a knife and what appeared to be a bow, the sheriff said.

A still photo of a person pointing what appears to be a homemade bow with no arrow at a deputy was shown in the video. Fryhoff said the bow was pointed at the first deputy who tried to contact Perez Hernandez as another deputy arrived on scene and exited his vehicle.

Perez Hernandez advanced toward the deputy while “exhibiting the bow in a threatening manner,” Fryhoff said.

Deputies gave multiple commands in English and Spanish, but the Perez Hernandez “failed to comply and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” Fryhoff said. Deputies rendered aid to Perez Hernandez until paramedics arrived, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of his gunshot wounds, Fryhoff said.

The body camera footage first shows a deputy parking his vehicle saying, “Be careful, I think he has a knife.” The deputy appeared to hold a yellow Taser gun as he approached a second sheriff's vehicle.

Footage shows the deputy walking toward Perez Hernandez before another deputy fires his gun. Perez Hernandez can be heard moaning while one of the deputies says, “Drop it, drop it, put it away.”

In the second clip, from the deputy who fired the shots, he can be heard saying to Perez Hernandez, “I’m going to shoot you. Get down, get down,” before firing one shot and missing. Perez Hernandez had been walking toward the deputy.

After the first shot, Perez Hernandez walks away, saying something in Spanish. He turns to look at the deputy, and the deputy fires two more times and misses.

Perez Hernandez begins to run. The deputy shoots Perez Hernandez, whose back is toward the deputy, on his fourth and final shot. Perez Hernandez drops to the ground.

“Shots fired, shots fired. The subject is still holding something in his hand,” the deputy said at the end of his body camera footage.

Deputies said they found two knives, a 3 ½ inch knife with a straight-edge blade and a round-edged knife, like a butter knife, in addition to a device that Fryhoff said was used as a bow.

The sheriff’s office conducts investigations of all police shooting to determine if the deputy’s actions were lawful and within policy, Fryhoff said. The sheriff’s office will also internally review and evaluate the actions of the deputy within policy and training standards, he said.

On Thursday, Sheriff's Sgt. Monica Smith said by email that both deputies were placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting, under the policy of the sheriff's office and a standard procedure.

Deputy Erick Adrianzen, who fired his handgun, has been with the sheriff’s office for 17 years, Smith said. He was placed on leave June 30 and cleared to return to work on July 8.

Deputy Marco Conradi, who was present during the shooting, has been with the agency for six years, she said. He was placed on leave June 30 and cleared to return to work on July 3.

Neither deputy had previously fired their handguns in the line of duty, Smith said.

The sheriff’s office arrested Perez Hernandez on Tuesday, about a month after the June 30 shooting. Officials said he is from eastern Ventura County and did not disclose his city of residence.

When Perez Hernandez was discharged from the hospital, he was arrested, Smith said.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office charged Perez Hernandez with a felony of exhibiting a deadly weapon to a police officer to resist arrest and attempting to prevent an executive officer from performing their duty.

Perez Hernandez’s arraignment Wednesday morning in Ventura County Superior Court was rescheduled to 9 a.m. Aug. 15 for a competency hearing. His bail was set at $50,000.

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Body camera footage of Thousand Oaks shooting released