LAPD bodycam video shows moments before officers fatally shoot knife-wielding suspect in Pico-Union

PICO-UNION, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Police Department released body camera video of a deadly confrontation in the Pico-Union neighborhood involving a suspect investigators say charged at officers with a large kitchen knife.

The incident happened on Sept. 13 in the 1200 block of New Hampshire Avenue. Police said they received a number of calls of an armed man causing a disturbance. He was later identified as 35-year-old Carlos De Anda.

Audio of those 911 calls were released Monday, one of which paints a picture of what witnesses reported.

"There's a crazy guy across the street from my house in the Korean church parking lot. He has something in his hand. I don't know what it is, it looks sharp," one caller said.

Bodycam footage, which was posted on the LAPD's YouTube page, shows officers attempting to talk to De Anda, who was holding an 8-inch kitchen knife.

In the video, he's speaking Spanish to officers, saying he doesn't want to live.

As officers worked to contain the area, one officer is heard requesting assistance from a Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team, also known as SMART. SMART is a part of LAPD's Mental Evaluation Unit, which helps officers respond to and link people in crisis to appropriate mental health services.

"He was holding a knife, or something like that, and when we asked him to leave the property, he threw a rock at some of us," a SMART member is heard reporting in LAPD audio.

In another portion of the video, officers are heard asking De Anda to put the knife down as he runs toward them.

"Put the knife down!" officers yell. Moments later, shots were fired.

De Anda was shot at least once and is seen falling to the ground. He was transported to the hospital that night where he later died.

"People say, 'Well, it's just a knife,' However, you've got to remember someone with a knife can close the distance between you and them in a very, very short period of time," explained Bruce Thomas, a local law enforcement expert.

No other injuries were reported in this incident, which remains under investigation.