The Antelope Valley Times

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Armed man shot, killed by Palmdale deputies

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A man was shot dead by Sheriff’s deputies during the early morning hours of Friday, Nov. 7 on Rancho Vista Boulevard near Cricket Lane in Palmdale. The man was a combat veteran, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and set on ending his life that morning, according to his friends. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
A man was shot dead by Sheriff’s deputies during the early morning hours of Friday, Nov. 7 on Rancho Vista Boulevard near Cricket Lane in Palmdale. The man was a combat veteran, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and set on ending his life that morning, according to his friends. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)

PALMDALE – An armed suicidal man was shot and killed by deputies early Friday morning in Palmdale, authorities said.

The deputy-involved shooting occurred around 3:48 a.m. in the 4200 block of Rancho Vista Boulevard, according to Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

“Palmdale station deputies received a call of, ‘a man with a gun who was possibly suicidal,’” Rouzan stated. “Upon arrival, deputies contacted the suspect, who pointed a gun at them.”

The man was shot by deputies and pronounced dead at the scene, and a gun was recovered, according to Rouzan.

No deputies were injured during the incident.

The deceased man’s identity has not yet been released pending next of kin notification, coroner’s officials said Friday night.

The man’s friends expressed their grief on The AV Times’ Facebook page Friday evening. According to several of the posted comments, “Will” was a combat veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He was a father, he was a service member stricken with PTSD, he was a man who felt the world had crashed down around him. He was that 22nd veteran that daily kills himself because he was cast aside by the system that made him that way,” one friend stated.

Another friend stated he had notified authorities about Will’s emotional state and had tried consoling Will in the hours leading up to the shooting. But Will was set on ending his life that morning, the friend stated.

“Did you know that he had firmly stated he had one round and one round alone for the pistol and it was meant for him? That he had absolutely zero intent to harm anybody else other than to end his own suffering?” the friend posted on Facebook.

Whenever an officer-involved shooting occurs involving Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies, multiple independent investigations immediately begin at the scene. These include separate investigations by the Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney and the Los Angeles County Coroner, as well as investigations by Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau. Attorneys with the Los Angeles Office of Independent Review also respond to the scene, and have full access to the facts known to the Sheriff’s Department throughout every phase of these investigations. Once concluded, every aspect of the shooting is reviewed by the Sheriff’s Executive Force Review Committee.

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

62 comments for "Armed man shot, killed by Palmdale deputies"

  1. He also owed 1.500 back rent in eastern sierra mountains to I am sorry he did this to his family no pity for what he did up here

  3. What a horrible, heartbreaking thing to have happen. This is WHY we cannot afford to continue to treat the men and women who serve our country so valiantly so recklessly when they get home. PTSD is real, and its what happens when you send people into combat, worse when they serve multiple tours. They need support, REAL treatment. The AV is one of the most supportive communities for Veterans that I have ever lived in, but its still not enough. We don’t have the money to provide critical support services for PTSD patients and their families. We don’t have the necessary jobs to be the crucial economic tether that these men and women so richly deserve.
    It’s heartbreaking for the officers involved in this as well. I’m sure this is the last thing they would ever want to have happen.

  4. A man who served our country and seen things the majority of us have never witnessed has died. A brave police officer, who everyday, puts his life on the line to protect us, had to make a hard snap decision and shoot his service arm at this man. It is a lose lose situation. My thoughts and prayers go out to both families. People need to stop turning this into something that it isn’t and realize that this is a tragedy and not something that the police officer was wishing daily for. There must be alot of ignorance in the Antelope Valley. Maybe someone should check the water source for contamination of stupidity!! Again, my prayers are with the officers involved and the veterans family.

  5. Being a vet does not mean WE are all doing crazy stuff like I have been seeing the news outlets? Some of these guys (mostly) and gals already had issues before the joining the service. If a vet is having PST issues and not in group therapy they need to get plugged in with vets others (suicide by cops is not an answer). Just like the police not everyone is suitable for the service .The problem is the military does not do a good job of screening recruits. We have an all-volunteer service at this time and the Arm Forces should screen for those factors. No system can get it 100% all the time but we may able to cut down on some of the problems down the road. The screen should be the same for all MOS’s since all MOS are a riflemen first, then a military job.

  6. I have a thought, why not “volunteer “as a reserve deputy or community volunteer. For concern citizens You can get a little taste and experience the street of the AV. I think that vehicle cameras and body cameras should be mandatory for all LEO in all states and federal agencies. The FEDERAL DOJ should pay for it since they love to get involved AFTER the fact. Then we can cut down on all the lies and see the facts. The data should be stored by the states and the feds. This way the feds do not get a pass either. Accountability for all. If the feds funds the NSA with mega computer system. Why can they not store data

  7. Many of the sheriffs in our community are veterans. Many have been to Iraq and Afghanistan. I am sure that this situation was an absolute nightmare for them….a situation that they hoped would never happen.

    My sympathies and support go not only to the victim and his family in this incident but also to the sheriff’s department. I am sure that this is eating them alive and always will.

  9. Good job Lasd! Yeah it’s sad how this man was suffering from PTSD BUT I’m glad he’s off the street! I live very close to here and I very happy this man is now no where close to my home or family!! And there is no video people!!! Lasd cars do not have cameras in them and palmdale station does NOT have body cameras!! Thank you to the deputies involved! My thoughts are with them and there family’s!

    • [removed] If you knew anything about PTSD or what this man’s story was about, you probably wouldn’t be grateful that someone looking for help was shot and ‘off the street’. You might be wondering what happened to make this guy want to take his own life. I doubt he was going to do a home invasion and harm your family at 348 am. If you had known this person, he was funny, sweet, and always there for his friends and putting his own well-being on the back burner. However, this man served his country for your right to trash a dead person and to spout off your complete ignorance.

      My thoughts go out to his family. It has to be incredibly hard to lose a son and family member in this manner. It has to be frustrating to watch the little boy you raised go into a dark place in their mind from the atrocities of war and not be able to reach them and pull them back. It also has to be frustrating to watch a broken government system not help your child. Think about that while you’re cozy in your bed and your children are sleeping. Pray that they will not know the horrors of war and that someone like you will not speak in this manner if they were placed in the same situation.

      My prayers go out to the officers and their incredibly hard decision. I know that if I were a LEO, this would be my worst nightmare. I hope this situation does not affect them in the way that I’m sure similar situations effected the deceased.

    • I served with this man for more than 7 years, he was also a nurse in the area. He was on of the good ones. He did more with his life that most of you civilians ever will. I just wish he would have reached out to one of us.

  10. I can’t believe the comments of disrespect and assumptions on this website. Have any of you actually looked at the statistics of how many Veterans ARE being treated for PTSD and how many are getting help? Have you considered how many of them don’t end up statistics? Have you looked into how many times a police officer has been faced with violence – the possibility of being shot – and they didn’t raise their weapon and everyone went home safely? NO you don’t do your research. You just take a story at face value – and paint the whole police force with a black swath. You take one veteran’s story of PTSD and “assume” that none of the veterans in this country get help. You don’t consider “both” sides of an issue before you pass judgement. Don’t be surprised if you get judged in the very same manner of ignorance that you judge others with.

  11. I wish the cop would have stopped patrol car a few hundred feet away.. rather then driving up in his face and forced a resolution…he could have been saved… but some cops are itching to pull a trigger and kill.. rather then keep patrol car back… so a talk could happen and end the problem… but no… the responding cops couldn’t do that… drive right up and pull guns is what they did… forcing his hand…. he could have been saved….

    • You obviously don’t understand SOP. The man had a gun, the officers are trained to protect innocent people.

      In the need, the man chose to carry a gun and point it at deputies. it was his choice how this was going to end. How is it the deputy’s fault that the man decided to carry a gun in public?

      People are so quick to blame police. Either they use too much force or not enough.

    • Then why didn’t you save him? You think you can do a better job than the sheriffs involved? Then the next time a person is on the street pointing a gun at a sheriff let’s have them call you and you can save the day.

  12. The deputies have that shoot to kill mentality, they got body armor and what not and yet they always want to use lethal force, shoot his hand or leg. Or use a rubber gun, they killed a guy on a bike a few years ago in Lancaster because of no reflectors and they say he was running. There always scared and trigger happy deputies in the AV, glad I moved away from that [removed] hole.

    • Police are trained to use lethal force in situations like this. They are trained to shoot at center mass. A leg isn’t that easy to hit on a still target, imagine if it is moving. Now imagine that bullet missing the intended target and hitting a civilian? Then what?

      Statistically, very few police ever even draw their weapons, let alone fire them.

  13. I find it sad that people write some of the things they do. PTSD is a nightmare many live with, veteran and civilian alike, who you are makes it no less real. Do you understand “suicide by cop”? That was obviously this man’s intent when he went outside of his home, walked down the street with a weapon. Yeah, three officers of the law fired…were they supposed to wait to see which of them would fire…possibly endangering civilians? They had no idea how many if any bullets were in the gun. All they know is they received a call stating a man was walking down the street with a gun. Once he raised his gun he was an immediate threat. If you know guns you know to always consider them loaded.

    • He raised a gun, but didn’t shoot. I guess the cops were justified, but did they have to. They knew he was suffering PTSD. The police won’t show any video of this. Another example of a good person who is suffering who the system discarded as to hard to deal with. Will was a medic in the US Army serving overseas, he later became Nurse and helped others day after day. When he need help they put him down like a feral animal. Nicely done :-( This is the L.A County Sheriff’s office at its finest. Next election vote in a Sheriff that will save and protect the lives of its citizens. Look at how many people were shot just this weekend in the Palmdale/Lancaster area.

      • Does the diagnosis really matter? He was a threat to himself and others. What if he had fired and hit a civilian? People would complain that the police should have fired.

        The officers followed procedure. The man was a threat to others based on the information they had at the time.

        As for the others shot in the area, what does that have to do with an officer involved shooting?

        • Rubber bullets anyone! they will put anyone down fast! Ever hear of a plan before you approach someone? it was called into the sheriff’s so they knew what was going on. Police confrontation causes more unneaceary deaths and accidents that would never happen.

          • Zink….is there anyone [removed]? The guy fired at least one round. Those facts will be released soon…but even if the guy didnt, you are welcome to confront an armed man with a rubber bullet gun. By all means..do so soon! McFlyyyyyyyyyyyy!

          • So are you suggesting that deputies load their guns with rubber bullets all the time?

            Rubber bullets do not “put someone down” they are used mostly for crowd control. Meant to hurt but not seriously injure a person. If the person being fired upon is intent on harm, on drugs etc. a rubber bullet will most likely not stop them.

            Just because it was called it doesn’t mean the deputies were given all the information by the caller. Eye witnesses are very often incorrect or lacking in details.

          • There are many different types of rubber bullets get educated. And yes I think all cops should have them. And I think cops need more training with dealing with vets with this disorder and more services up here for vets.

          • This was a unique situation where the deputies knew that the suspect was a vet it sounds like. This is usually not the case. How are deputies suppose to know who is who?

            As for rubber bullets, I am aware of various type but keep in mind not all are approved by each agency. Even if they were, they are NOT as effective as real bullets. Just like pepper spray and tazers don’t stop everyone.

      • Richard, how would they have known he had PTSD? If you pointed a weapon at me, I would have shot you. Pure and simple. Anyone with any intelligence is not going to point a weapon unles the intent is to harm. I knew Will, he was most of the time a very caring man, but I did see him at his worse also and at those times he was scary. Did I want this to happen? Absolutely not, he had so much to give, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t seek help. I mourn for the loss of him, his family and his friends. He chose suicide by cop, because sometimes a person just can’t do it themselves.
        It does not make it the LA County Sheriff’s fault, they were doing their job.

    • Allison, couldn’t agree with you more.

      A loss for everyone involved from his family and friends to the officers involved. These are the thing that can trigger PTSD hope the officers are taken care of as well as his family

  14. IT TOOK THREE DEPUTIES TO PUT THIS MAN DOWN? HHMM? AT AT LEAST THREE BULLETS A PIECE, THATS NINE SHOTS! NOPE I DONT THINK WE WILL BE SEEING ANY DASH CAM OR BODY CAM VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM THIS TRAGEDY…

    • Los Angeles county has not equipped their patrol vehicles with dash cams. Those devices are usually found on city patrol cars (PD’s). Also, they are not equipped with body cameras, they have to buy their own, and they’re pricey. As far as three Deputies shooting, if a gun is being pointed at you, you’re not going to wait to see if your partner will Fire first. That’s called hesitation, and the slightest bit of hesitation could mean the difference of going home to your family, or taking a trip to the coroners office.

    • There was no debating that the man had a gun, why does it matter how many bullets were fired? Would you have preferred that each officer waited until the man actually fired? Rancho Vista is a busy street, it is highly possible that had the man actually fired his gun he could have struck a passing car.

    • There were not 9 shots fired.. Anyone who lives where it happens will tell you that there were 5 shot. First one then a small delay then four. I was woke up from the shots I know, it was behind my house. My husband, father, and several friends are vets I see them suffer. They see things that many of us have no guts see and do, Same for cops. Everyday they leave their families to protect our country and us. Show some respect for those who stand up to protect. None of us were there we don’t know what happened. im sure they didn’t want to shot but we don’t know why they did and may never know. It really sucks our government doesn’t take care of our protectors.

  15. Cops get off on this garbage anyway. They probably go to sleep at night dreaming of the day they can empty the clip into somebody.

    • Bob, I am a local Law Enforcement officer, and I pray every night that I can make it through my 30 year career without firing my weapon. The majority of us have absolutely no desire to take someone’s life. Regardless of what the public believes, that is something that marks us forever. Every day and every night, those who have been in a shooting have to live with the fact they took someone’s life. I hope I never have to carry that burden.

      • Gary,

        Thank you for your service to our community. Please know that there are many citizens of this valley who see the sacrifice you and your fellow officers make and honor that. It takes a great deal of courage to be able to accept an oath to protect the public knowing some day you may be forced to take the life of another person. I, for one, know I do not have the inner metal to do your job. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims family (for he was a victim of PTSD which obviously created a deep seated despair) and to the officers involved. May they all find peace.

    • My husband is a law enforcement officer and I can tell you, nearly all officers hate to have to shot someone. Many never even raw their gun their entire careers.

  16. Isn’t amazing that in a hardcore rightwinger town like the AV, those very people that rightwingers love sending off to fight their pointless wars end up getting gunned down on the streets of the city by other rightwingers because they can’t receive the counseling they need?

  19. What a great week in the sewer, I mean the AV. Let’s see now: Two home invasion robberies in Lancaster, execution style murder at a McDonalds in Palmdale, man with a gun shot and killed by Deputies in Palmdale, minor threatening to shoot up Palmdale High School, not to mention all the undetected gang activity in and around the AV. You couldn’t ask for a better place to live and raise a family. Remember what the letters AV stand for: ANOTHER VICTIM!

  20. With the recent release this week of Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi in Mexico where the Judge finally decided to release him because of his own suffering from PTSD and to now hear of someone else suffering from the same illness close to home yet with tragic results is very sad…I hope people with experience in this area will come together to help these returning men and women from combat to cope with this very serious issue…It is heart-breaking to read these stories and to know that their loved ones are suffering so much as well from their loss. I send my deepest condolences and heartfelt gratitude for this man’s sacrifice and service to our country and I hope that in his passing that we are reminded of how fragile life can be for some.

    • Not really heartfelt. He wanted to die. There are millions of civilians suffering from PTSD domestically and worldwide. Just ask the millions of innocent Iraqi’s if they have suffered. Will they be acknowledged for their “sacrifice”? Children growing up around death don’t really create stable citizenry. Like in Syria.

      He enlisted. He just didnt know that the indoctrination and some experiences were going to mess up his head (They don’t advertise that in the recruitment material).
      It is what it is. Maybe DOD should advertise in their videos the potential for their soldier units to die, be maimed, have serious psychological issues, and more instead of just focusing on the “good” aspects of military life.

      How many congressmen have had their children go to war since Congresses formation relative to the overall population?

      Tragic, nonetheless. Perhaps with sincere help he could have survived and hopefuly those wanting to enlist understand the potential for them to end up “mentally” like the deceased. SAD.

      • You’re a [removed]. When he enlisted there was nothing amiss in the great world of [removed] where anyone thought they would have to deal with that situation. He enlisted YEARS before 9/11. Think before you start spouting off with your [removed]. I don’t think anyone knows when their mind is going to break from the horrors of war. Lucky for you that you’re perfect in every way. I hope your ” ” serve you well.

    • Like the Mexicans, who kept SGT Andrew for over 200 days in captivity and the US Government did not try to help. The beat him, but once they learned he had PTSD they had an excuse to release him. Will he get any help now that he is back. If not I truly hope he does not live in Palmdale/Lancaster, CA where they will discard him rather that have to deal with him.

      Next election vote in a L.A. County Sheriff that will serve to protect the lives of its citizens. How were the officers that took this man’s life trained? Many of the deputy sheriff officers in L.A. County are part time people. They may only be paid $1 (yes, possibly a dollar a year + ammo used on the job). I am sure the deputies are happy. Now they get a new shinny box of ammo. As a citizen of California you my not even be able to purchase the ammo they use. It is specifically designed to kill people.

      Remember at the polls.

  21. Sad. Apparently it takes more than a false police report to kill a military veteran. Saddest part is the military vets PTSD is now transferred to cops with mad and stunned faces. Wil Rambo’s affliction create a future Chris Dorner?

    Bet you some of them are military veterns too. Sad for the deceased and sad for the cop shooter.

    Violence only transfers more violence….during war and peacetime.

  22. Stories like this one makes me weep with sadness. May God be with Will’s family during this time of loss as well as the deputy who felt so threaten by Will that he had relieve of the agony he must have suffered. Many thanks Will for your service to our country. Praying for a safe journey to the other side.

    • Florida, you know what makes me weep with sadness? Not having enough money to move out of the Antelope Valley. That’s what really sad!

      • What makes me really cry is all the loosers wishing to get out of the av not knowing greener pastures are only a myth.

        • No, Messi it’s not a myth. I spent years in the AV watching it go from a fairly nice place to live to bad to worse. I finally was able to get out of there and now I am in paradise. I can’t believe how great life is here. Everytime I check out this website I remember how depressing life was in the AV. Keep saving your pennies John. Hope you make it out of there.

  23. Praying for the family and so sorry for their loss. Praying for the officer as well for doing his job to protect himself when threatened. I am an Army mom and I weep for the family and their loss. I would like to thank them for their son’s service to our beloved country. They will be in my prayers forever. God Bless America and may God wrap His loving arms around all involved.