By Dennis Romero - NBC News
After a video was released showing from multiple angles how police officers fatally shot a Hispanic man holding a knife, Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villaneuva said Friday night that he has "serious concerns." for the fatal incident.
David Ordaz Jr., 34, was shot to death by officers on March 14 outside his family's East Los Angeles home.
Family members posted video of the incident while announcing a lawsuit against the county and four of its officers last Thursday.
The complaint says Ordaz "was not in his right mind" when his sister called 911 for help and to report that he had "a normal kitchen knife," and that he was taking methamphetamine and was suicidal.
The officers "used unjustifiable force" that caused Ordaz's death, according to the lawsuit.
The family is charged with California civil rights and wrongful death officers, who protect people from violence as a result of a "medical condition."
According to the lawsuit, the four officers "carelessly handled, maintained, operated, controlled and supervised" the incident.
Image from the body camera of one of the agents of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department who confronted the Hispanic David Ordaz Jr, who can be seen in the background, dressed in black.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department released video of the incident from the officers' body camera on Friday.
Villanueva said that one of the police officers involved had been relieved of his position.
"I want to clearly state that I have serious concerns regarding this shooting involving an officer," the sheriff said.
The shooting is being investigated both internally and by the district attorney.
The sheriff said he would share the results of the investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
[A Hispanic man who was having a mental breakdown is attacked with bullets]
The officers' union, the Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs Association, did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent Saturday.
How did the confrontation start?
The confrontation began when Hilda Pedroza called 911 and asked "if you could guide me on what I can do to help" her brother, according to the sheriff's video.
In a statement, Hernández said Friday that his brother "had reached an emotional low point."
"Out of desperation, we called 911," it reads.
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According to the sheriff's video, deputies were dispatched with a mental evaluation team.
Before the shooting, officers at the scene again requested the mental evaluation team, according to the video.
Agents managed to get Ordaz out of a parked car and tried to convince him to drop the knife.
At one point, an officer suggested using a less lethal round and someone opened fire, apparently with a stun bag, an ammunition that hits people without penetrating their body, according to the sheriff's video.
[Two guys kick a man to steal his cell phone in New York]
After he was beaten, the video shows Ordaz stumbling towards officers and members of his family.
Shots were fired and he can be seen falling to the ground in a fetal position, his back to the officers.
The shooting continued after Ordaz fell to the ground.
At least 12 bullets were fired, according to a county forensic report provided by the family's legal representative, the Alan A. Ahdoot law firm.
The lawsuit says Ordaz was "hit with non-lethal bullets, turned to flee down the sidewalk, and did not launch himself at sheriff's deputies. In fact, the coroner's report shows that all but two of the bullets hit him. in the back".
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Villanueva has been criticized for comments he has made after the deaths of civilians by his officers and has been criticized for his response to decades of reporting on officers who have formed police gangs.
It's unclear why the department released video of the March incident until Friday.
The sheriff's office said his post was part of its "Promise of Transparency" program.
"Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones," Villanueva said as part of his statement on Friday.
He also assured that Ordaz was "under the influence of drugs and wanted to commit the so-called 'suicide by police'".
[This was the violent arrest of a suspect for which two Colorado police officers are detained]
The department said Ordaz had been convicted of drug possession and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
His daughter, Emily Ordaz, said in a statement Friday: "I wish I could tell him what a great father he was. I wish I could tell him that we are all human, that it's okay to fight depression and anxiety, that it's okay to fight addiction." .
"Unfortunately," he said, "the police don't see him the way I do. Instead, they used my father's mental illness against him, made it look like he deserved to be killed."
