Sacramento police release video of officers shooting man with knife in Natomas store
The Sacramento Police Department on Monday released video of officers shooting a man who charged at them with a knife he used to cut himself during a tense standoff inside a Natomas grocery store.
Jordan Zenka was pronounced dead not long after he ran with the knife toward the officers, according to a news release from the Sacramento Police Department. Video of the deadly encounter shows the officers make repeated attempts to convince Zenka, 26, to put down the knife while inside the Bel Air store in the 3200 block of Arena Boulevard.
Police said the officers fired less-than-lethal weapons, which failed to stop Zenka from charging at them. As Zenka continued toward the officers with the knife, a Sacramento police officer and a California Highway Patrol officer shot Zenka.
The video and audio the Police Department released Monday includes footage from four officer body cameras, three store security cameras, two videos from witnesses’ cell phones and recorded audio from 911 calls. Along with raw video footage and audio recordings, the department released an edited video of the encounter with police narration.
About 6:30 a.m. Dec. 13, a Sacramento police officer was called to the Bel Air store for a report of a vehicle crashing into a building.
“This guy, he crashed his car into the building,” one of the callers told a 911 dispatcher. “He’s on the sidewalk currently and he ran inside and was saying someone was trying to shoot him.”
The caller also told the dispatcher that the driver left behind the crashed car with its engine still running, and he went into the store “panicking,” according to the 911 call recording.
Used knife to cut his neck
As the officer was heading to the crash, callers from inside the grocery store told dispatchers that a man involved in the crash, later identified as Zenka, was armed with a knife in the store and cutting his neck.
“He’s trying to cut himself right now. They just said he’s cutting himself,” the frantic caller told the dispatcher.
When the officer arrived, employees leaving the store told the officer the man with the knife was in the store near the bakery. The officer went inside and spotted the man with “a large knife” and cuts on his neck.
Video from the officer’s body camera shows the officer repeatedly ask Zenka to drop the knife. Police said the officer created distance between himself and Zenka to try to deescalate the situation and negotiate a peaceful resolution.
“But you got to put down the knife,” the officer is heard telling Zenka in the video. “Can you put down the knife on the oranges?”
The officer continued trying to put Zenka at ease, telling him to relax. The officer told Zenka, “You’re fine. We got all the time in the world, we can just sit here and talk. No big deal.”
The officer also spoke to dispatchers and other officers on his radio, telling them Zenka was bleeding from his neck and was now in the store’s produce section still holding the knife. Store security camera video shows Zenka holding the knife to his neck.
Minutes later, additional officers arrived with less-than-lethal weapons to try to subdue Zenka without shooting him with actual bullets, including Tasers, .40 mm exact impact sponges and bean-bag shotguns. Body camera video later shows another officer pointing a less-than-lethal shotgun at Zenka, who was still in the produce section.
Negotiation went on for more than 20 minutes
Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and a CHP officer also entered the store to help police. The officers continued to negotiate with Zenka for more than 20 minutes, trying to get him to drop the knife and not hurt himself further.
“You’re fine,” one officer told Zenka. “What would your family think?”
During that time, other officers found employees who had remained in the store and were hiding during the police standoff with Zenka. The team of officers escorted the employees out of the store to safety.
Police officials said Zenka ran toward the officers still holding the knife in his hand. Officers then used the less-than-lethal weapons at Zenka.
Zenka was minimally affected after he was struck by those weapons, police said, and he continued to run toward a police officer with a K9 and the CHP officer. Zenka was holing a large serrated knife, according to the Police Department.
Both those officers then fired their handguns at Zenka. He did not go down until after the handguns were fired at him, the video shows. Zenka was on the ground on his back and police said he was still holding the knife.
Zenka dropped the knife after the officers fired their less-than-lethal weapons at him again, police said. The video shows the officers, using ballistics shields for cover, moved in to restrain Zenka and begin to provide medical attention. Medics arrived and performed life-saving measures on Zenka before they pronounced him dead.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 4:52 PM.
