Man With Knife Shot to Death by Deputies

THOUSAND OAKS —  Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a man who allegedly was brandishing a knife on the sidewalk in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood Tuesday evening.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office would not identify the dead man or the two deputies involved in the shooting on the 800 block of Lynnmere Drive.

Deputies were tight-lipped about the case as reporters converged on the street. The man’s body lay uncovered on a lawn.

Sgt. Steve Bourke said police received a call about 6 p.m. from a resident who was concerned by a man wandering through the neighborhood. The resident said the man was behaving suspiciously, but police would give no other information on the call.

Neighbors said the man was wearing a khaki jacket, khaki pants, white socks and tennis shoes. He was carrying a white plastic shopping bag.

When a deputy sent to the scene tried talking with the man, he pulled out a knife, Bourke said. He held onto it even after another deputy arrived and squirted him with pepper spray.

Both deputies drew their weapons and fired, Bourke said.

Several children in the neighborhood had been out playing.

“I saw the guy running around,” one boy said. “I heard the police officer say, ‘Don’t do it!’ ”

Another witness said the man appeared to be reaching into his plastic bag just after he was sprayed.

Many residents appeared stunned as they gathered beside an area cordoned off with yellow tape.

“It’s very upsetting,” said a woman who declined to give her name. “This is a very, very quiet neighborhood. I’m repulsed.”