Man with knife aboard Sacramento RT train shot, killed by Sacramento police near city college
A man who was carrying a knife aboard a Sacramento Regional Transit train was shot and killed Tuesday by Sacramento police after an encounter with officers at an RT station next to Sacramento City College.
According to police in a news release, the man was aboard an RT Blue Line train and was carrying “a large knife” when officers were called just after 5 p.m. The train pulled into the platform adjacent to Hughes Stadium when officers pulled another passenger off the train and tried to speak with the armed man who remained on the train.
“Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation for several minutes,” police said. “Less-lethal munitions were used, however they were ineffective. While still armed with the knife, the suspect charged at officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The man was pronounced dead by Sacramento Fire Department personnel. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release his name after his family has been notified.
Police said that none of its officers were injured, and an RT spokeswoman said no other passengers or RT employees were injured in the shooting.
Sgt. Carlos Martinez, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department, did not know how many shots were fired nor how many officers fired their service weapons. It’s unclear what type of less-than-lethal munitions were used, including whether a Taser or a bean-bag gun was used to try to subdue the man killed.
Martinez on Wednesday said the department, for the time being, was not releasing any further details about the incident. He said the department was working to release video of the police encounter as soon as possible with more information.
Officer-involved shootings are typically investigated by the Police Department’s Homicide Unit, Internal Affairs Division and Professional Standards Unit, along with its Force Investigation Team to focus on policy, tactics and training in use of force.
Investigators from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office will be called to the scene, along with representatives from the city’s Office of Public Safety Accountability, which provides oversight in police shooting investigations.
Video from the incident will be publicly released by the department within 30 days, in accordance with SB 1421, California’s law enforcement use-of-force law, and city policy.
Recent Sacramento PD officer-involved shootings
Tuesday’s incident is the third shooting involving members of the Police Department in 2023.
The last officer-involved shooting happened May 20 near 28th and Q streets in midtown when officers fired upon a woman who had caused disturbances at several midtown businesses before she allegedly robbed a coffee shop.
The woman, who had been brandishing a pellet gun and pointed it at officers before they shot her, survived and was later arrested. The 43-year-old Chico woman’s case remains suspended, court records show.
On July 13, the court determined she was mentally incompetent to face criminal charges. She will return to court Aug. 24 and could be submitted to a state hospital, where she would receive treatment to restore her mental competency before she could return to face the charges. She remains in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
The other shooting with police this year in the city happened Feb. 8 in Old North Sacramento when a carjacking suspect was shot by officers as he used his vehicle to escape, injuring one of the officers.
Clayton Freeman, 32, remains in custody at the Main Jail and begins his trial as early as Aug. 30 to face felony charges including assaulting an officer in the line of duty with great bodily injury. He pleaded not guilty during a hearing in July, according to court records.
The last shooting on RT property that involved a law enforcement officer happened six years ago, when a Galt man grabbed a deputy’s gun and shot him in the face in North Highlands.
Nicory Marquis Spann was convicted and sentenced to 32 years to life in August 2020 after the June 2017 fight with the deputy assigned to RT patrol on the Watt Avenue light rail platform.
Deputy Alex Ladwig survived the shooting and spent months rehabilitating from his injuries after spending 11 days in the hospital, undergoing surgery to repair what sheriff’s officials described as “major structural facial injuries.” Ladwig returned to work during his rehabilitation.
Investigators asked anyone with information about Tuesday’s fatal shooting to call officers at 916-808-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the P3 Tips website and app.
This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 6:56 PM.