Citrus Heights police shoot man who officers say pulled knife, made threats
Citrus Heights police shot and wounded a man Monday morning after officers said he threatened people with a knife in a shopping center parking lot.
Officers responded around 10:30 a.m. to reports of a man with a knife near Lichen Drive and Antelope Road, said Lt. Nicole Garing, a Citrus Heights Police Department spokesperson. Officers found the man at 10:42 a.m., still armed, and at least one officer opened fire, Garing said.
The man was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. No officers or bystanders were hurt.
In line with department policy, the officers who fired on the man were expected to be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the incident by the department.
This incident is also being investigated by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, a standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in the county.
Police were also expected to release video from body-worn and patrol car cameras, as mandated by Senate Bill 1421, which requires disclosure of police records pertaining to incident of great bodily injury within 30 days of an incident.
Monday’s officer-involved shooting was the first by city law enforcement since October 2024, according to previous Bee reporting.
Justin Jerome Phillips, now 42, survived the shooting and was arrested on suspicion of robbery, corporal injury of a spouse and threatening with a weapon. Phillips remains held in Sacramento County sheriff’s custody in lieu of $1 million bail. Phillips returns Thursday to Sacramento Superior Court in connection with the October incident.
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