Oakland Cops Kill Man in Street Shootout
Updated 12:23 PM PST, Wed, Jul 22, 2009
It was a wild scene on the streets of Oakland Wednesday after a man started shooting at Oakland police.
The suspect was killed. Police said it credit good luck that no officers were hurt.
A dead has been identified as 36-year-old Parnell Smith, Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said.
Smith, an Oakland resident, was stopped because he fit the description of a rape suspect, Thomason said today.
Thomason said Smith was a parolee and had a no-bail warrant for violating the terms of his parole.
Thomason said two Oakland police officers on routine patrol spotted Smith in the 1600 block of International Boulevard about 3:05 p.m. Wednesday. When they approached him, Smith allegedly pulled out a loaded pistol from his waistband, Thomason said.
Both officers drew their pistols and a series of gunshots erupted, Thomason said.
He said Smith fled on foot with his gun and the officers ran after him.
Several more shots were fired and Smith was eventually hit by the officers' gunfire. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Thomason said.
Thomason said the officers weren't injured and that the suspect's handgun was recovered at the scene. He said investigators are still trying to determine how many shots were fired by the suspect and how many by officers.
Oakland police homicide and internal affairs investigators, as well as the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, are investigating the shooting, as is standard procedure. The officers are on paid administrative in the meantime.
Thomason said this is the third officer-involved shooting in Oakland this year.
At a meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Acting Deputy Chief Eric Breshears said, "The use of force is down this year, especially lethal force."
Breshears attributed the sharp drop in officer-involved shootings to increased training for officers, particularly patrol officers.
He said the Police Department also has disciplined some officers who haven't followed proper use-of-force procedures.
Breshears also said the department has issued Tasers to most officers so that they can use Tasers instead of guns in certain situations.
First Published: Jul 16, 2009 8:36 AM PST
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