Officers shoot man with meat cleaver who called 911 to report assault

Long Beach police officers responding to a call of an assault late Thursday shot a man holding a meat cleaver who turned out to be the person who reported the attack, authorities said Friday.

An officer arrived at a residence in the 300 block of East Sunset Street about 11:20 p.m. after receiving a 911 call, according to a police statement. As the officer approached the front door, “a male exited the residence holding a meat cleaver in a threatening manner and confronted the officer.”

“The officer gave the suspect several commands to drop the meat cleaver, however the suspect refused to comply and an officer involved shooting occurred,” according to the department statement.

The man, identified as Hung Doan Nguyen, 45, was taken to a hospital, where he was described as being in stable condition. Nguyen lived in the residence where the shooting happened, police said.

He will be booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, Long Beach police said in the statement.

After a preliminary investigation, it was determined that Nguyen called an emergency dispatcher to say that he had been the victim of an assault and needed paramedics.

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Marlene Arrona, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department, said she did not know whether Nguyen was waving the meat cleaver at the officer. She said there was no language barrier and that the suspect spoke English.

“The assault Nguyen reported is still under investigation,” according to the police department statement. “At this time we have not been able to determine the circumstances, or locate any witnesses, in regards to Nguyen’s reported assault.”

There have been eight officer-involved shootings in Long Beach this year, according to Arrona. She said three were fatal.

The last police shooting occurred Sept. 9 when an officer responded to a call about a suspicious man at a park. The officer tried to speak to the man, who then fled on foot. The officer, according to a police statement, saw the man holding a firearm in his hand and chased the man by car before firing a weapon. The man was not struck by gunfire and was taken into custody shortly after.

The name of the Long Beach Police officer involved in the shooting has not been released.

Long Beach police are asking anyone with information about the incident Nguyen reported to call the department’s homicide detail at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips can be submitted at (800) 222-8477

Twitter: @hbecerralatimes

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