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Central Coast officers shoot and kill suspect, video

March 19, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

Oxnard police shot and killed a man who called officers “pigs” while charging at them with a steel pipe last week, according to a video the police department released on Friday.

On the morning of March 12, officers were conducting a DUI investigation when 60-year-old Adam Barcenas called officers “pigs” and yelled “I hate you.” With a metal pole in his hands, Barcenas charged at the officers.

The officers order Barcenas to put down the pole.

Barcenas continued moving towards an officer and began raising the pole when the officers open fire. Officers shot Barcenas in the upper torso, thigh and hip. He died later at a hospital.

The three officers involved in the deadly shooting are on paid administrative leave while the police department and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office conduct an investigation.

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Replace the police in this situation with one legally armed citizen. Do they have the right to kill?


0

Apparently 2 out of 3 police officers would choose a taser over a gun to respond to this situation.


-5

Clear case of self-defense. People under the influence of drugs and alcohol can be dangerous threats to the people around them.


18

So, they should be shot down in the streets like a rabid dog, oh no you can’t do that to a dog that would be inhumane.


-6

Over the years I have had male subjects charge at me with pipes ,2x4s, baseball bats, golf clubs , canes etc etc ….None of them was under the influence , some possibly did not take their medications or should have been previously prescribed medications .I have walked towards these folks disarmed and incapacitated their abilities …It is only a pipe or 2×4 etc etc …not exactly the fastest moving object ….IMO one should never bring a pipe to a gunfight


-5

Suicide by cop? May never know for sure but in a situation where LEO’S have their weapons drawn, it’s best to comply.


16

Taser should have been used first to drop the old man.


-24

In theory, yes, a Taser might have been tried first. But there are so many cases of these police encounter videos where Tasers are ineffective. The assailant’s bulky sweatshirt/jacket likely would’ve produced yet another Taser failure. In a fraction of a second that 5-foot section of pipe he was wielding with clear violent intent could have injured and disabled an officer. So, “an ounce of practice is generally worth more than a ton of theory”, and in this case the officers acted appropriately in not banking on the theory that a Taser was the right tool for the situation.


17

Well I’m torn between 2 feelings. I feel sorry for the officer that had to kill someone and for the person he killed but if there wasn’t more that happened on video I would have to feel that 3 officers being threaten by a drunk person with a pipe there surely was another way other than killing him. Maybe yes maybe no but you see in other videos where a officer is in a complete one on one fight and he doesn’t shoot the person. It’s sad for all involved


11

Even an old drunk can kill you with a metal pipe.


22

I wish all the Monday Morning Quarterbacks would change careers and join a L.E. Agency so they could show the veteran officers how to handle these scenarios properly. There absolutely was another way to avoid the killing of the assailant, Adam Barcenas. Mr. Barcenas could have dropped the pipe as he was lawfully instructed by the Oxnard Police Officers. Compliance isn’t all that difficult, but it seems like an awful lot of ill-informed citizens just can’t seem to do it. They appear to be under the false impression that the side of the road is a courtroom, or an MMA Octagon.


18

“Suicide by Cop.”


9