Richmond

Richmond chief addresses deadly police shooting, releases bodycam video

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Richmond police said Friday the man shot and killed by officers last week was illegally in possession of a large arsenal of weapons.

Two officers shot and killed 66-year-old Kevin McDonald on June 28 while serving a search warrant at a home on Sanderling Island in Point Richmond. Police said officers were forced to shoot McDonald in order to protect themselves.

Police were attempting to retrieve three guns that McDonald's roommate wasn't supposed to have. The roommate was in police custody at the time.

Body camera footage shows several armed officers searching the house. Police said as officers were about to open the door to McDonald's bedroom, he said something to the effect of "don't come in here." Officers can then be seen opening the door to the bedroom. Police said McDonald was sitting on his bed with a loaded AR-style pistol pointed at the officers.

An officer can be heard yelling "Gun! Gun!" Two officers then opened fire, killing McDonald.

"This was not a fast, dynamic, rapid situation," Richmond police Sgt. Donald Patchin said. "We tried to slow things down for this exact reason. [The officers] took their time. I think it was very evident that they were inside the house. They made every effort. You'll see them actually call out to Kevin by name in the full video. They ask Kevin to show himself because they do believe he's in the residence. They had information that he was going to be in the residence. They really tried to afford him every opportunity to peacefully surrender so that we didn't have this outcome."

Richmond police Chief Bisa French on Friday provides updates on last week's deadly police shooting at a home in Point Richmond.

Police said McDonald was a convicted felon who was not allowed to own any guns. They said they found 48 firearms in his bedroom, including pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns. Of those firearms, 17 were ghost guns. Thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun manufacturing equipment and a live grenade were also found.

McDonald wasn't on the department's radar. Police said they didn't know about his large cache of weapons nor why he didn't comply with their commands.

McDonald lived at the home with an elderly family member, who wasn't hurt during the incident, and his roommate Jose Martinez.

Martinez, a convicted felon, was arrested for threatening members of the public with a gun in the days leading up to the police shooting. He remains in jail facing nine felony counts.

Richmond police, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating.

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