SANTA MONICA—On August 22 at 1:46 PM, the Santa Monica Police Department announced an officer-involved shooting in the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue. On September 12 at 8:43 a.m., the SMPD announced that it had released the officer’s body-camera footage on the department’s YouTube page along with an audio recording.
The department released this information in a Critical Incident Community Debriefing Video. The video also includes information from the preliminary investigation to help Santa Monica residents understand the events leading up to the shooting and the response that followed.
At approximately 12:49 p.m. on August 22, two uniformed officers arrived near Broadway and Ocean Avenue after receiving a report that a man was chasing a woman near the Broadway stairs. They began speaking with witnesses, including vendors, pedestrians, and park visitors. As they collected statements, they observed a man, later identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as Michael Rodriguez, wearing a black shirt, grayish pants, light-colored sneakers, and a backpack, holding a large knife overhead.
He approached one officer and the people the officer was speaking with. In response, the officer drew his weapon. He and his partner instructed Rodriguez to drop the knife. When Rodriguez did not, the officer being approached stepped back. Rodriguez then moved faster, closing the distance while still holding the knife. The officer told him several times to put it down. He did not. The officer fired one shot, hitting Rodriguez in the chest and causing him to fall onto the sidewalk next to a parking meter and drop the knife.
Afterward, the first officer knelt and spoke with Rodriguez, telling him to “Come here, buddy, come here, buddy.” The officer then contacted the station, reporting that shots had been fired, that he needed help, that he was taking them into custody, and that he was providing his location. He then told all the witnesses to remain, after which he asked the department to have the Santa Monica Fire Department respond to a man with a gunshot wound to the chest.
While doing so, the officers put on gloves to examine Rodriguez and search him for additional weapons. One officer removed a second knife from Rodriguez’s right pants pocket, and a third knife was seen sticking out of the backpack.
The officers then began providing medical assistance. They applied gauze and a chest seal to the wound and started chest compressions, which a third officer continued until the paramedics arrived. In the video, one officer can be heard encouraging Rodriguez, telling him he can breathe and that he can do this, while another says he needs to move the seal quickly. Once the paramedics arrived, they continued providing medical care. Rodriguez was transported to a local hospital, where he died at around 1:49 p.m.
The knife Rodriguez carried was a large fighting/utility knife. It had a long, substantial clip-pointed blade, a protective handle, and a metal grip. Part of the blade’s spine was serrated.
Neither any of the officers nor any civilians were injured during the shooting.
Under California State Law, video footage and audio recordings of officer-involved shootings must be released within 45 days. The SMPD releases Critical Incident Community Debriefing Videos to be transparent with the community and to help the public understand the circumstances related to officer-involved shootings.
The SMPD asks anyone with video of the shooting or who witnessed it to contact Sergeant George Burciaga by email at George.Burciaga@santamonica.gov or by calling the watch commander at 310-458-8427. The SMPD is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will review the shooting while the SMPD’s Internal Affairs Section conducts its own investigation.
The video does not reflect any conclusions by the investigators, and additional information may be released to the public as appropriate.
By Daniel Diquinzio