Last Updated on June 17, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A man who the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said backed his vehicle into a patrol car was shot to death by deputies in Yucca Valley, the department announced Tuesday, June 15.
Juan DeLeCruz Rodriguez, 58, of Barstow, was pronounced dead at High Desert Medical Center on June 9, the night of the incident.
Deputies had responded at about 7:40 p.m. to a report of a suspicious vehicle and a driver acting strangely in a city park. As deputies arrived, he sped away and drove into oncoming traffic, a news release said.
Deputies caught up to the man in a business parking lot at 57200 29 Palms Highway.
“Rodriguez was uncooperative and soon after, put the vehicle in reverse and collided with a patrol car. Moments later, a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” the release said.
A knife fell from Rodriguez’s lap as he was pulled from the car, the release said.
Department policy discourages deputies from firing at a moving vehicle, with some exceptions. One is that if the person in the vehicle is threatening others by some means of deadly force other than the vehicle itself. Another is if the vehicle presents a danger of serious injury or death to others, and “other reasonable means of defense have been exhausted, or are not available or practical,” such as moving out of the way.
Additional details on the circumstances of the shooting were not immediately available Wednesday.
The department asks any witnesses to call Detective Brett Chandler at 909-387-3589 or leave information anonymously with WeTip at 800-782-7463 or wetip.com.
