May 12--The Orange County Sheriff's Department released dramatic video this week of a suicidal man firing on deputies with a rifle last month, blowing out the rear window of a cruiser and prompting the lawmen to dive for cover.
The dash-cam video was recorded on April 27, and sheriff's officials said they were posting it on the department's YouTube channel Wednesday to demonstrate the dangers that deputies face "every day."
The video shows three deputies responding to a call of a suicidal man in a San Juan Capistrano neighborhood in two cruisers. As the deputies attempt to contact the man by phone, a figure can be seen emerging from an open garage some distance ahead of them.
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire erupts as the rear windshield of a cruiser explodes and the deputies scramble for cover.
"The deputies were unable to return fire due to poor sight lines and concern that they couldn't see who else may have been inside the garage," the department wrote on Facebook, praising the officers' "incredible restraint" for taking cover and not blindly shooting.
Around two minutes later, the man can be seen coming out of the garage, his hands raised.
"Lay down on the street, now!" a deputy yelled. "Lay down!"
The video appears to be shot from a camera mounted on the dashboard of the second police car, parked behind the first. The view of the man was obstructed by the first car, but deputies then approached him, guns raised.
The man was arrested and charged with three felony counts of attempted murder on a peace officer and three counts of discharging a firearm in commission of a felony, said Lt. Mark Stichter, a spokesman for the department.
No one was injured, the department said.
"We posted the video because, for us, it shows what our deputies are faced with every day," Stichter said. "These kinds of calls are very common, and you respond to them numerous times throughout your career."
hailey.branson@latimes.com
Twitter: @haileybranson
