The deadly encounter began with a casual greeting, issued by a West Sacramento police officer as he walked toward his vehicle on a darkened city street.
“Hey, how’s it going sir? Can I help you?” the unidentified officer said to the elderly man who had parked behind the patrol car at Merkley and Poplar avenues, according to video released this week by the West Sacramento Police Department.
(NOTE: Viewer discretion is advised, as some may find the subject matter disturbing.)
The officer got no response from the other man, later identified as 88-year-old Robert Coleman, who gripped a revolver in his right hand as he exited his car.
“Oh sh—!” the officer exclaims before three shots ring out. “Shots fired! Shots fired! Put down the gun! Put it down!”
A standoff ensued, with more than a dozen additional shots fired over the next two minutes as several officers repeatedly order Coleman to release the gun and “show us your hands now!”
Alive but wounded, Coleman apparently fails to comply, leading one officer to warn his colleagues that “he’s still got the gun — he’s manipulating it.”
Coleman succumbed to his injuries moments later, marking West Sacramento’s first officer-involved shooting in nearly two decades. No officers were injured.
The fatal shooting was captured in roughly eight minutes of officer body-camera video that West Sacramento police released on Monday, nine days after the incident. It includes footage from three officers’ cameras.
Several days after the incident, police revealed that Coleman was a former code and parking enforcement employee of the West Sacramento Police Department, who according to his family had suffered from mental-health issues and suicidal thoughts in recent years.
“After reviewing the footage, I felt even more deeply the profound tragedy of Mr. Coleman’s battle with mental illness, as well as the trauma endured both by his family and by police officers on the scene,” West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said.
Investigation continues
The events leading up to the shooting began at about 3 a.m., when police received a 911 call reporting a man in his 30s armed with a gun in the 1800 block of West Capitol Avenue.
“Multiple officers respond and detain a man who matches the description but ultimately is unrelated to the shooting,” police said in a written statement accompanying the video. As officers spoke with the detained man, one of them returned to his patrol car, where the encounter with Coleman began.
Sgt. Eric Angle noted that the footage released thus far is preliminary only, with full video expected to be released within 45 days of the fatal shooting in accordance with state law.
Four officers discharged their weapons that night, the exact number of shots fired still under investigation, Angle said. The officers included a sergeant with 15 years of experience and three officers with five years or less on the job.
Also unclear is whether any shots came from Coleman’s weapon.
“We wouldn’t speculate about that until we get the complete video from all four shooters,” Angle told The Enterprise on Monday.
All six involved officers were placed on administrative leave following the shooting but will soon be authorized to return to duty while receiving support services, Interim Police Chief Rob Strange said.
The Davis Police Department is conducting the investigation into the shooting, the results of which will be reviewed by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.