Sacramento Officer-Involved Shooting Comes As Nation Reels From Violence

SACRAMENTO (CBS 13) - A man is dead after a standoff with police in North Sacramento Monday morning.   It started when people in the area noticed the man on the street visibly irritated.  When police arrived, the man taunted the officers with a knife while circling one of the police cars and screaming obscenities.

"[Police] told him 'Get down on the ground, Get down on the ground' and he just kept walking and saying 'come and get me, come and get me,'" said Melissa Gudis, who watched everything from her car.

She told CBS13 that saw the man carrying a knife and believed he was also carrying a gun.  Her husband, Christopher, called 911.

"I heard the bam," Gudis said.  "My husband heard the one shot. And it was a few seconds, it wasn't immediate.  It was 'bam' and then 'bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.' Just multiple shots."

According to Sgt. Bryce Heinlein with Sacramento Police Department, two officers fired their weapons after the suspect turned towards the officers with a knife.   The suspect was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.  Another officer was hurt while trying to get the suspect to cooperate.

"At one point, an officer was exiting his vehicle in an attempt to pursue the suspect and injured himself," said Sgt. Heinlein.

He wouldn't elaborate on the officer's injuries but Cheryl McKeag said she saw that officer in his car, driving slowly while trying to get the suspect to calm down.

"He opened his door, the driver, and the police officer put his foot down on the ground," she said. "[The suspect] kept throwing things at the police car and shouting obscenities and kept walking."

Witnesses told CBS 13 they couldn't help but think of the deaths across the county in the last week and wonder if this incident was another in the pattern.

"You know you wonder now what's going to happen, is there going to be another riot or protest," McKeag said.  "It could get ugly."

While it has been a challenging week for law enforcement across the country, Sgt. Heinlein remains hopeful that things will improve.

"Our community has bound together and has helped lift us back up and together with the community we will get better."

Two investigations will take place - one administrative and the other criminal.  Internal Affairs and the Sacramento District Attorney's office will head up those investigations.