Family Of Man Shot During Arrest Seeks Body Camera Footage

FULLERTON, CA — In late May, Fullerton police shot and killed a man in the course of an arrest. Now, the family of Hector Hernandez wants police body camera footage released.

On May 27, Fullerton Police responded to a family disturbance call in the 3600 block of West Avenue, near Magnolia Avenue, about 10 p.m.

Arriving officers learned Hernandez "had a gun and fired several shots," Sgt. Eric Bridges of the Fullerton Police Department said.

When police pulled up, multiple people fled the home, followed at last by Hernandez, who was holding a knife.

According to Bridges, Hernandez refused orders to drop the knife and turned to go back into the home. Then, police released the K9 officer to "try to take him into custody."

The attacking dog led Hernandez to stab the K9, prompting an officer-involved shooting, Bridges said. Hernandez later died as a result of the shooting.

On Thursday, the Hernandez family attorney, Garo Mardirossian, told reporters that Hector complied with officers' orders before the K9's release and the shooting.

"They told him to put his hands up, and he put his hands up," Mardirossian said. "He held his hands up until they let the vicious dog loose on him, and he had to bring his hand down to try to defend himself."

Mardirossian said Hernandez was never a threat.

"He came out (of the house) and fired shots into the air," Mardirossian said. "Never shot anyone. No one was afraid of him."

Officers performed life-saving measures on Hernandez until medics took him to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The knife that stabbed the dog was recovered at the scene.

Bridges said the dog was rushed to an animal hospital, where he underwent surgery and was expected to make a full recovery.

The Hernandez family wants all footage from officers' body-worn cameras to be released, Mardirossian said.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office was investigating the shooting, as part of their protocol when an officer fires a weapon at a suspect.

Fullerton police had no comment on the request from the Hernandez family as of this report.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig, contributed to this report.