Sacramento police release video of officers who shot, killed armed man in Tahoe Park standoff

The Sacramento Police Department released several hours of video footage on Saturday from a police shooting at a Tahoe Park home last week that left a man dead.

Officers were called out at 8:15 p.m. Sept. 6 to a home on the 3700 block of Redding Avenue, right across the street from Hiram Johnson High School, initially for a welfare check.

Police shot and killed Derek Pearson, 53, about 5:10 a.m. the following morning, after several hours spent negotiating with him while he was barricaded inside the home.

The department released audio from a 911 call to police dispatchers requesting a welfare check on Pearson.

“Just have received some very strange messages, some disturbing messages, so I was hoping someone could check on this person,” the caller told dispatchers, explaining that the voicemail messages didn’t make much sense but seemed “somewhat threatening.”

“We’re all kind of worried about him,” the caller told police. Department officials said in a narrated and pre-edited video release that officers were investigating another report of threats that potentially involved Pearson around the same time the 911 call was made.

Bodycam footage from an officer approaching the home on Redding Avenue shows Pearson identifying himself and telling police to leave.

“You are not welcome here. Please leave,” he said. Pearson also expressed fears that someone was trying to kill him, and asked for protection.

“There are people trying to kill me,” he said. “Last time I was taken by the police they tried to kill me.”

The officers left the doorway but peered into the home through a front window. The officers backed away with their pistols drawn moments later, saying that Pearson was seen racking a rifle inside and pointing it at them.

Crisis negotiation and SWAT teams were called out to the home and made contact with Pearson several times via phone. Nearby homes in the neighborhood were evacuated as police set up a perimeter.

The audio from a negotiation call released by police spanning 25 seconds captured a strange back-and-forth between police and Pearson.

After the negotiator established contact, Pearson asked if his demands would be met by police.

“Are we talking about the spiritual demands or earthly demands?” the negotiator asked.

“Exactly, spiritual,” Pearson responded.

“Spiritual demands,” the negotiator said. “Yeah.”

No other negotiation call audio was released by the department.

Police footage shows officers taking cover in armored vehicles as shots ring out in the early-morning hours of Sept. 7. An officer had been asking over a loudspeaker for him to come out peacefully when the shooting broke out.

“Your brother and sister are worried about you and your well-being and they don’t want you to get hurt,” the officer said, but was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Another followed seconds later.

One officer heard on the footage said that the shots hit Hiram Johnson High School behind them, which was closed temporarily by district officials in the wake of the fatal shooting.

An officer driving an armored bulldozer was later sent out to remove blinds from the front window of the home in order to get a better view of Pearson inside. While the officer cleared the window, more shots rang out in rapid succession as sparks flew from a nearby car on impact.

A police news release said that Pearson’s round hit several unoccupied vehicles, as well as school buildings.

About 5:10 a.m. Sept. 7, Pearson came out of the home nearly 9 hours after the welfare check was requested.

Video from an armored vehicle shows Pearson coming out through a garage, holding what appears to be a rifle. As he lifts it up and points it toward police, officers unleash a volley of bullets. Pearson falls to the floor.

The Police Department said that three officers opened fire and Pearson was hit at least once. A police drone was sent into the home, capturing video that showed a Kalashnikov-style rifle on the floor, several feet away from Pearson, who was lying on the ground, unresponsive. Officers attempted first aid but he was pronounced dead by fire personnel. Several more firearms were found by police inside.

No officers or any other people were injured, according to police.

“This incident is being investigated by the Sacramento Police Department’s Homicide Unit and Internal Affairs Division. The Office of Public Safety Accountability and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office are providing oversight by monitoring the investigation,” police officials said in a news release accompanying the video release. “Conclusions regarding if the actions of the officers involved are consistent with department policy, and the law, will not be made until all the facts are known and the investigation is complete.”