Editor’s Note: Suicide is always preventable. If you are having thoughts of suicide or feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately at 988. Counselors are also available to chat at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Remember: You deserve to be supported, and it is never too late to seek help. Speak with someone today
By Andrew Khouri
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Fullerton police said Monday that a man they killed last month appeared to provoke the incident in an effort to die.
On June 15, police said they responded to a 911 call urging the department to send multiple officers to deal with a man who threatened the caller and others with knives on Imperial Highway.
When officers arrived, they found a man who matched the caller’s description holding what appeared to be two knives, according to police.
Officers told the man — later identified as 27-year-old Lorenzo Roger Hills III of Brea — to drop the weapons, but instead he ran at them with the knives in hand, prompting officers to fatally shoot him.
On Monday, police said they recovered two knives and a cellphone. Upon investigation, police said the phone was registered to Hills and was the same one used to make the initial 911 call.
“It is believed Mr. Hills intentionally provoked a deadly police encounter, commonly referred to as ‘suicide-by-cop,’” the department said.
Police on Monday released body camera video that shows Hills running toward officers, who shoot him before he nears them.
Police also released a recording of the 911 call, in which the caller gives his name as Antonio. After the caller reports a mentally ill man wielding knives, the dispatcher tells the caller she’ll remain on the line with him until officers arrive.
The caller responds that he may have to go, but then doesn’t after the dispatcher tells him he must stay on the phone so officers know exactly where the knife-wielding man is.
Before officers arrive, the caller says, “My phone is cutting ...” and the line goes dead.
___
©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.