Dublin Police Kill Man Who Threatened To Eat Friend
DUBLIN (CBS SF) -- Dublin police said Monday that a domestic violence suspect who was fatally shot by an officer on Sunday night after he allegedly attacked the officer with a metal baseball bat had an extensive criminal history and had attacked a friend in a separate incident on Saturday.
Police identified the suspect in the incident at a residence in the 700 block of Dublin Meadows Street at about 6:17 p.m. Sunday as 18-year-old Oscar Herrera and said his criminal history included possession of weapons, assaults, resisting arrest and possession of drugs.
Dublin police also said Herrera had been going through a detoxification treatment for a drug problem but on Saturday night he allegedly used methamphetamine and attacked a friend in Livermore in an incident in which he threatened to eat his friend.
"He was just like clawing at me and reaching in my mouth and my nose, just trying to yank skin off," the victim, Nate Maratea said.
In the Dublin incident, police said Herrera met officers who responded to a domestic disturbance call with a metal baseball bat.
"We started wrestling and he started scratching my face and stuff. He was trying to gouge me so I threw him to the ground. Then I had my hand on his neck, trying to restrain him. He just kept on screaming crazy stuff about religion. Nonsense. And I was like, I'm going to call the police. I'm going to call the police," Maratea said.
One of the officers drew his firearm but Herrera immediately hit the officer in his right arm with the metal baseball bat, police said.
Herrera then raised the baseball bat over his head in a motion that appeared to be directed at the officer's head so the officer fired four rounds at him because he felt his life was in immediate danger, police said.
Herrera was hit by the officer's gunfire and succumbed to his injuries despite being treated by medical personnel who responded to the scene, according to police.
Dublin police said they later learned that before officers were summoned to the residence Herrera was being physical with his mother, had pushed her and might have been confrontational because he was going through detox.
"He was deranged and he was just spitting blood everywhere," Maratea said.
They said a family member called a friend about the incident and the friend called police to tell them about it and tell them where it was occurring.
According to Dublin police, Livermore officers who contacted Herrera after the incident on Saturday night found him covered in blood and said he immediately began fighting with them.
Dublin police said Livermore officers had to use a Taser to gain control of Herrera, who was then transported to a local hospital for treatment.
However, Dublin police said Herrera called his mother on Sunday morning to ask her to pick him up at the hospital because he had decided to leave against the medical advice of the doctor who was treating him.
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