27-year-old Southern California man ‘provoked deadly confrontation with police,’ officials say

WARNING: Images with drastic effects

A 27-year-old Orange County man was shot and killed by police last month, authorities said Monday, in what appears to have been a targeted attack to provoke officers into opening fire on him.

The June 15 incident occurred shortly after 5 a.m. when the Fullerton Police Department dispatch center received a 911 call from a person reporting a male suspect armed with a knife threatening people in the 200 block of East Imperial Highway.

“The reporting party informed the caller that he had been the victim of a weapon being used and that he should send several officers due to the man’s dangerous behavior,” the FPD said in a press release.

At the crime scene, officers discovered a man who was apparently armed with two knives that matched the suspect’s description.

Body-worn camera footage released by authorities shows officers ordering the man, later identified as Brea resident Lorenzo Roger Hills III, to drop his weapons.

When the 27-year-old disobeyed the order, one of the officers can be heard in the footage saying, “Hey, get the .40 ready,” presumably referring to a non-lethal weapon that fires 40mm sponge bullets and that another officer was carrying at the scene.

In the body-worn video, Hills can be seen turning and charging toward the officers, whereupon the same officer heard earlier yells, “Stop, stop, stop. 40!”

Four police officers fired fatal shots at the 27-year-old, two with rifles and two with handguns, police said. Another officer simultaneously fired a less-lethal 40mm sponge grenade.

The 27-year-old was taken into custody while officers attempted life-saving measures and requested assistance from Fullerton Fire Department medical personnel.

Hills was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Two weapons were seized at the crime scene, a carpet knife and something that looks like a small kitchen knife.

During their investigation, police discovered that the cell phone used to make the emergency call was registered to Hills.

“Due to the fact that Mr. Hills called the Fullerton Police Department to report a man matching his own description who was brandishing knives and whose actions ultimately led to the officer-involved shooting, it is believed that Mr. Hills intentionally provoked a fatal encounter with police, commonly referred to as ‘suicide by cop,'” the press release states.

Fullerton Police Chief Jon Radus gave Hills’ family the opportunity to view the body-worn evidence before it was released.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is currently conducting an independent investigation into the police shooting.