Watsonville, California
June 06, 2015
Agencies: Watsonville Police Department - California
Cause of death: Not Yet Known
Last updated: almost 6 years ago
On Monday, the Watsonville Police Department said surveillance was set up on Fernandez and he was seen walking away from his home Saturday night. Officers said a weapon wasn’t seen on him at that time, but they attempted to contact Fernandez and he ran.
Police said Fernandez was chased down an embankment near the Pajaronian Bridge, where he hid in bushes and crouched down toward the officers with a gun. Recounting the incident, police said Fernandez and the initial officer were about 25 feet apart when Fernandez fired at the officer hitting him in the upper part of his body. Officers then fired back until Fernandez stopped shooting.
Police said the officer who was shot, didn’t have his gun drawn at the time. They also said his bulletproof vest saved his life because the bullets fired by Fernandez hit the officer in the back. Police said the officer’s initial reaction was to turn away from Fernandez. After the gunfire ended, police said a group of officers went down the embankment and found Fernandez was dead.