Fatal Deputy-Involved Shooting In RivCo: Video Released

PERRIS, CA — The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has released video footage of a deputy-involved shooting in Perris earlier this spring that left a suspect dead and a deputy wounded.

The video compiled by the department and narrated by Sheriff Chad Bianco was released Wednesday and depicts the March 21 morning shootout at 177 Bond Drive that left 28-year-old Cristian Alejandro Castaneda of Perris dead.

In the video, Bianco begins by identifying Castaneda as the suspect wanted in connection with an assault on a deputy during a traffic stop that occurred the night before the shooting. Castaneda allegedly fired on that deputy, but his gun malfunctioned so he fled. The deputy was uninjured.

Investigators tracked down Castaneda's passenger at the time of the traffic stop, and information gleaned determined their suspect was possibly at the Bond Drive location.

The next morning, several deputies and a sergeant showed up at the address looking for Castaneda. Residents told law enforcement that Castaneda was in a bedroom, according to Bianco.

"While deputies were removing residents from the home, Castaneda began to fire a weapon from inside the residence," the Sheriff said.

Deputies moved the residents to cover and can be heard telling them to "get down."

The video shows two deputies on the other side of the home taking fire while pinned behind a small barrier.

One deputy called out that he was shot.

"Got (expletive) hit right in the (expletive) chest," the deputy is heard saying.

A few moments pass.

"We're returning fire right now. Come on. Let's do it," one of the deputies says.

Multiple shots ring out.

"We ain't dying here today," a deputy tells his comrade. "We're going home, you understand."

The video shows armored police vehicles arriving at the location and moving the residents and deputies to safety.

According to Bianco, deputies tried, unsuccessfully, to coax Castaneda from the home, and eventually a police robot with a camera was sent inside.

"The robot located Castaneda in a bedroom, deceased from a gunshot wound," Bianco said.

A semi-automatic handgun and multiple rounds were also found, according to the Sheriff.

It's not clear whether Castaneda was killed by deputy gunfire or whether he took his own life.

"Multiple investigations" into the incident are ongoing, Bianco said, noting that the "The Force Investigations Detail Task Force" is leading the charge.

Patch reached out to the sheriff's department for more information on that task force. Last summer, during the height of protests amid the George Floyd killing, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution titled "Commitment to Evidence-Based Policing and Transparency by Allied Law Enforcement Agencies in Riverside County."

As part of the resolution, the document outlines that the sheriff's department should not use its own detectives/investigators as the lead for deputy-involved shootings.

An immediate response to Patch's inquiry was not returned.