Video shows Cabazon man waved knife just before Riverside County sheriff's deputy shot him
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department released body-camera footage Tuesday that shows a man pull and wave a knife moments before a deputy fatally shot him in Cabazon in November.
The deputy, whose name has not been made public, stopped Kenneth Scott Wallis because he was riding his bike on the wrong side of Carmen Avenue, west of Rafael Street, at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 12, Sheriff Chad Bianco said in the video. Bianco said the deputy also knew Wallis had an active felony arrest warrant.
The footage shows Wallis get off his bike after being approached by the deputy. He admits to having a weapon when asked, but doesn't answer when the deputy asks what it is. The deputy tells Wallis to keep his hands out of his pockets and pulls out his gun when Wallis does not appear to comply.
Wallis then tells the deputy to shoot him, saying the sheriff's office keeps harassing him and referring to himself as "the Antichrist." He gets back on his bike to ride away, but the deputy runs after him and pushes him off.
After Wallis takes an aggressive stance and says, "What's up, G?" the deputy pulls out his baton. Wallis then pulls out and briefly raises a knife toward the deputy, who pulls his gun and shoots. At the moment the deputy fires, Wallis had put the knife to his side and is standing still with his other side to the deputy.
Paramedics pronounced Wallis dead at the scene.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department did not respond to The Desert Sun's questions Tuesday about the deputy's name and what non-lethal options he had available during the incident.
The sheriff's department also released surveillance camera footage from a nearby business that shows the shooting from a distance.
Bianco said Wallis' knife, which is shown in the video in a later evidence photo, was a six-inch meat cleaver and recovered at the scene. He said the Riverside County District Attorney's Office will lead an investigation into the shooting, with the help of the sheriff's department's Force Investigations Detail and Central Homicide Unit.
Wallis’ family was asking the department for body-worn camera footage and other details of his death soon after it occurred — largely due to several people allegedly being told by deputies that he was hit by a car. Bianco had denied to The Desert Sun that deputies had said that to anyone.
Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Video: Riverside County sheriff's deputy shot man after he waved knife
