Oxnard police release video of April 7 fatal shooting by police
The Oxnard Police Department released a video Monday night depicting the April 7 fatal shooting of an Oxnard man by officers.
The incident in the 2000 block of East Bard Road involved Christian Baltazar Torrez, 18, who had allegedly threatened residents with a knife. The events unfolded around 6 p.m. when Torrez approached officers holding a 3-inch knife and refused to drop it despite multiple police commands and the use of non-lethal force.
Eventually, the situation escalated and an officer shot the 18-year-old. Torrez was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Ventura County Medical Center.
Oxnard police determined Torrez's name in part from a February arrest warrant, according to Cmdr. Alex Arnett. A local mortuary listed his name as Cristian Baltazar Torres.
Over 20 minutes, the agency's video includes audio from 911 calls, surveillance footage from a personal security camera and clips from five body-worn cameras recorded by each of the law enforcement officers who responded.
Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites introduced the video, saying it was released with the goal of answering questions about the incident and discouraging the spread of misinformation.
"This video is in no way intended to offer an opinion or analysis of what transpired," Benites said. "Its scope is limited to presenting facts. It is focused only on the incident itself, and not beyond that."
The chief also explained the use of "less lethal" weapons, such as a Taser stun gun and a gun that shoots beanbags, which officers are trained to use as a first line of self-defense. Both were used on Torrez prior to the shooting with an officer's service weapon.
Assistant Chief Christopher Williams spoke next, naming the four officers and the sergeant who responded to the 911 calls.
The policeman who shot Torrez was identified as Officer Jarrod Sheffield, a two-year veteran of the department who fired four handgun rounds at Torrez. Sheffield remains on paid administrative leave, Benites said, but has an unspecified anticipated return date.
The others were Sgt. Todd Johnson, who used a Taser on Torrez; officer Randi Vines, who fired one beanbag round; and officers Dan Casse and Kyle Hay, who drew their handguns but did not fire them. Each has returned to his patrol duties since the incident.
All five responding officers were part of the patrol unit, Williams said. None has been involved in a fatal use-of-force force incident while with the department, authorities previously said.
Audio, video from incident
The video includes audio from two 911 calls reporting Torrez to law enforcement. The first call is in Spanish from a man who said Torrez was inside the caller's truck. The second person, a woman speaking in English, said Torrez was threatening her husband with a knife while he was out playing with their children.
Williams then narrates the course of events over a diagram depicting the location of Torrez and the five officers during the encounter. He said Torrez was still inside the truck when police arrived and took about five minutes to exit the vehicle.
As he approached officers, Torrez held a knife. Despite demands from police in both English and Spanish, Torrez continued to advance toward officers, even after he was hit with a Taser and beanbag round.
Once he was knocked to the ground by the beanbag, Torrez got up and was shot by Sheffield, who fire four rounds. Police then called paramedics and began performing first aid and CPR on Torrez. He was transported to Ventura County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead around 7 p.m.
Footage from a private security system included in the agency's video shows Torrez holding a knife in his left hand and a plastic bag in his right hand. He also clutched a bundle of clothing in his arms. He appears to be moving his mouth, but the footage does not include audio.
Arnett said investigators who spoke to family learned Torrez had moved to Oxnard from Mexico when he was 17 and had struggled with alcohol and drug abuse.
The body-worn camera footage shows the perspectives of each of the five officers during the incident, beginning with Johnson, followed by Vines, Hay, Casse and then Sheffield. The footage is captioned with commands from each of the officers, telling Torrez to "get on the ground" and "drop it." Some clips are edited to slow down the action and show the moment Torrez dropped the knife after he was shot by Sheffield.
The video concludes with Benites explaining the procedures for investigating an officer's deadly use of force.
The department's major crimes unit conducts a criminal investigation of the incident, and its professional standards division performs an internal investigation to determine whether officers' actions were within policy and or whether any disciplinary action is warranted, the chief said.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office reviews the major crimes unit's investigation and conducts its own legal review. The DA's findings are eventually published in a public report.
All three investigations remain ongoing. Anyone with information for police can contact Detective Charles "Chip" Buttell at 805-385-7688 or charles.buttell@oxnardpd.org.
The shooting is the second fatal shooting by Oxnard police this year. Last month, 60-year-old Oxnard resident Adam Barcenas was shot and killed by Officer Shayn Schwartz after advancing on officers with a large metal pole.
Prior to the two incidents this year, the last time an Oxnard officer shot someone was in May 2019, when a 17-year-old girl rushed at police with a knife in an attempted "suicide by cop." She was critically injured but ultimately survived the shooting.
Jeremy Childs is the East County Reporter for the Ventura County Star, covering the communities of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley. He occasionally covers courts, public safety and breaking news. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard police release video of fatal shooting by police
