The man who was shot to death by Fontana police inside The Home Depot on Monday, Feb. 26, had brushed off an attempt to incapacitate him with a Taser and charged at officers before they fired, the Police Department said as it provided new details on the confrontation.
Police were called to the area of Sierra and Jurupa avenues around 6 p.m. because a man was running in and out of traffic, seemingly attempting to get hit, said Officer Steven Reed, a department spokesman.
The man, identified by the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office as 36-year-old Fontana resident Marcus Allen Camacho, was then seen entering the hardware store at 16783 Santa Ana Ave.
Police confronted Camacho, who had removed a carbon-steel jab saw from its packaging and was posing a threat to the officers and customers, Reed said. A jab saw often has a 6-inch-long, jagged blade attached to a large grip.
“Both officers immediately attempted to de-escalate the situation, issuing multiple verbal commands in an effort to gain compliance,” Reed said. “A Taser was deployed and ineffective, and the suspect was running toward officers with the saw” when he was shot.
Camacho was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man by the same full name and age as Camacho had been arrested around 6:25 a.m. that morning on Village Drive on suspicion of being under the influence in public, according to the Fontana police arrest log. That same person was arrested on the same charge on Feb. 17 on Cherry Avenue, the log says. Police did not respond to an inquiry about whether this was the man they shot.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting. Fontana police are investigating the officers’ actions to determine whether they were within department policy.
