On July 11, 2016, Randy Lozoya and John Tennis, two Sacramento police officers, attempted to run over, and later shot and killed Joseph Mann, a 51-year-old mentally ill and homeless

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

man armed with a knife.

Incident

Police received

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

calls about a man standing in the street waving a knife. Dispatchers told police that Mann had a knife and gun, and that he was acting erratically. Mann was carrying a 4-inch knife when police encountered him, but no gun was ever found. Mann did not cooperate with the first officers who arrived at the scene. Mann's family describes him as "doing karate moves and zigzagging back and forth across the street as he tried to walk away from the officers." The initial responding officers ordered Mann to drop his knife, and get on the ground. He did not comply, and instead threw a

thermos A vacuum flask (also known as a Dewar flask, Dewar bottle or thermos) is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewa ...

at the police cruiser, and shouted threats as he walked down Del Paso Boulevard. When Lozoya and Tennis arrived, their cruiser's dash cam audio recorded one of them as saying, "Fuck this guy. I'm going to hit him." The other officer replies, "Okay. Go for it. Go for it." They missed Mann the first time, and attempted again to try to hit him with their cruiser. As they accelerated toward Mann, one officer said, "Watch it! Watch! Watch", as Mann jumped into the

median strip The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

to avoid the cruiser. After missing Mann the second time, the other officer said, "We'll get him. We'll get him." They stopped the cruiser, exited it, and chased Mann on foot. The officers fatally shot Mann moments later. Police fired 18 shots, 14 of which hit Mann. ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' suggested that Mann was about 27 feet from the officers when he was shot. Mann died at the scene.

Aftermath

The shooting led to protests by local religious leaders and Black leaders.

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

demanded the release of the dash cam videos, and criticized the police for escalating the situation. The

Sacramento Police Department The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) is the police department for the city of Sacramento, California. On August 11, 2017, Daniel Hahn was sworn in and became the city's first African American police chief. History The founding of the City of S ...

initially did not release the videos, but later released three dash cam videos, a surveillance camera video, and two 9-1-1 call audios after pressure from city officials, including Sacramento Mayor

Kevin Johnson Kevin Johnson may refer to: Entertainment *Kevin Johnson (singer) (born 1942), Australian singer * Kevin Johnson (ventriloquist) (born 1970), ventriloquist on ''America's Got Talent'' * Kevin Royal Johnson (born 1961), American singer-songwriter a ...

, as well as ''The Sacramento Bee'', obtaining cellphone footage from a citizen showing the shooting of Mann. The audio of the dash cam videos was enhanced by ''The Sacramento Bee''. A

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

report found that Mann had

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

in his system. Police spokesperson Bryce Heinlein told reporters that using a vehicle as a deadly weapon is something covered in

use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject". Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military perso ...

training. According to Heinlein, Lozoya and Tennis were placed on "modified duty". Mann's family has filed both a claim against Sacramento, and also a federal lawsuit. In addition to other shootings by police officers around the country, Mann's shooting prompted the

Sacramento City Council The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the city of Sacramento, California. The council holds regular meetings at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm, with exceptions for holidays and other special cases. Sacramento's city co ...

to propose a use-of-force policy change which restricts the use of lethal force, and examines the use of police vehicles. On January 27, 2017, the Sacramento County District Attorney cleared the two officers of any legal wrongdoing, concluding that they were justified in shooting Mann, but after an internal investigation by the Sacramento Police Department, neither Tennis nor Lozoya remain on the force.

Gallery

File:Police Shooting Joseph Mann - Dashcam Video 1.webm, Police dashboard camera (#1) File:Police Shooting Joseph Mann - Dashcam Video 2.webm, Police dashboard camera (#2) File:Police Shooting Joseph Mann - Dashcam Video 3.webm, Police dashboard camera (#3) File:Police Shooting Joseph Mann - Surveillance Video.webm, Surveillance camera

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Joseph 2016 in California Black Lives Matter Deaths by firearm in California Deaths by person in California Filmed killings by law enforcement Law enforcement in California African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States July 2016 events in the United States History of Sacramento, California

Incident

Aftermath

Gallery

See also

References