Brea gunman shot by Fullerton police attempted ‘suicide by cop,’ authorities say – Orange County Register

A 27-year-old Brea man who was shot and killed by Fullerton police in June attempted to take his life at the hands of an officer, authorities said in a critical incident video Monday, July 15. He was armed with a kitchen knife and a green box cutter when he was shot by police. Police video shows him charging at officers. (Courtesy of Fullerton Police Department)

A 27-year-old Brea man who was shot and killed during a confrontation with police in Fullerton in June wanted to die “by suicide by cop,” authorities said in a video of the critical incident released Monday, July 15.

On June 15, a 911 caller reported that a man armed with two knives was behaving dangerously near railroad tracks along the 200 block of East Imperial Highway, near Mervyn’s Drive, according to Fullerton police.

“He seems to be very dangerous and mentally ill,” the caller told the dispatcher.

The caller also informed the operations center that the man had aimed the knife at passers-by.

The video can be viewed here. Warning: It contains graphic content.

When officers arrived, they found a man matching the suspect’s description holding a kitchen knife in one hand and a green box cutter in the other as he paced back and forth, Sergeant Ryan O’Neil said in the video.

He was identified as Lorenzo Roger Hills III.

Hills was asked several times to drop the knives, but he refused to do so.

“Drop the knife, buddy. We don’t want to hurt you,” an officer says in the body-worn camera footage.

The man then charged toward police while four officers fired at the suspect, O’Neil said. A fifth officer had a non-lethal sponge launcher and fired a 40-millimeter sponge bullet at him.

Hills was taken to a hospital where he died.

A phone registered to Hills was found at the crime scene. Authorities later determined that it was the phone used to make the first 911 call.

“Due to the fact that Mr. Hills called the Fullerton Police Department to report a man matching his own description brandishing knives and whose actions ultimately led to the officer-involved shooting, it is believed that Mr. Hills intentionally provoked a fatal confrontation with police,” O’Neil said in the video.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or struggling with mental health issues, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (or simply dial 988) to speak with a counselor.