By Nathan Solis
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — A man was shot and killed by Oxnard police this month after he charged them with a 5-foot metal pole and screamed, “I hate pigs,” according to body camera footage released by the department.
Adam Barcenas, 60, was killed March 12 while three police officers were speaking to a person during a DUI traffic stop, police said Friday when they released the body cam footage.
The shooting unfolded in the 100 block of West 4th Street, according to the Oxnard Police Department.
Barcenas is heard screaming profanities at the officers in the body cam footage before he appears on screen. Officers wave away the man they were speaking to during the traffic stop as Barcenas approaches them with the large metal pole.
He charged toward the three officers, who told Barcenas to drop the pole. Barcenas continued to move toward the officers, shouting, “I hate pigs” and “I hate you,” the video shows.
Officers Alexus Santos and Bryce Parker drew their Taser stun guns, while Officer Shayn Schwartz drew his firearm and fired four shots, according to the Police Department. Three of the four shots hit Barcenas in the right leg, left hip, and the upper part of his body, police said in a statement.
Santos fired her Taser, but investigators said the probes did not break through Barcena’s clothing. Parker did not fire his Taser.
Barcenas was not involved in the DUI traffic stop that initially brought the officers to the sidewalk around 6 a.m., police said.
Officers gave Barcenas first aid until paramedics arrived, according to the department. He was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead around 8:30 a.m., police said.
No one else was harmed during the incident, which took about 10 seconds to unfold.
[LISTEN: Traffic stop safety: Tactics to keep officers safe]
Barcenas was found guilty in 2019 of felony elder abuse in connection with two separate attacks against a man and a woman, according to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.
Armida Castro, 71, died about a week after one of the attacks, but prosecutors declined to file homicide charges against Barcenas because Castro’s death could not be directly linked to the assault due to her “significant pre-existing medical conditions,” the district attorney’s office said.
Barcenas was sentenced to six years in prison for the attacks, but it was unclear why he was out of custody this month.
Officers Scwhartz and Parker joined the Oxnard Police Department in April and Santos joined in 2020, the department said in a statement. None had been involved in a shooting before this one.
Investigators with the department’s major crimes unit will review the shooting and submit a report to the Ventura County district attorney’s office, Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites said. Prosecutors will determine whether the shooting was legally justified, and the Police Department’s Professional Standards Division will determine whether the officers acted within policy, Benites said.
Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or has additional information to contact Det. Meagan Tobey at (805) 385-7755 or meagan.tobey@oxnardpd.org.
©2023 Los Angeles Times.
Visit latimes.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.