Police released video Tuesday showing a sheriff’s deputy shooting and killing a man who attacked a security guard following his release from a Virginia hospital in August.
Fairfax County Police called the video critical evidence in justifying the shooting, which the commonwealth’s attorney ruled self-defense last week.
The security camera video shows 29-year-old Yovani Amaya Gomez wielding a sign post about 3 feet long as he paced around a bus stop on the campus of Inova Fairfax Hospital.
The video shows Gomez attacking a hospital security guard, police said. His coworkers checked his wounds and sent him to the emergency room.
When Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick McPartlin arrived at the scene, he approached with his gun drawn, and Gomez rushed him, holding up the post, which McPartlin said looked like a sword, according to the commonwealth’s attorney’s investigation.
As McPartlin backed away, he fired four shots, striking Gomez in the torso with three and grazing his arm with another.
Gomez' injuries were initially thought to be non-life-threatening, but he later died.
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Hours earlier that hot day, a police officer called Fairfax County Fire and Rescue out of concern Gomez might be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, according to the commonwealth's attorney’s investigation.
“It was over 100 degrees that day, and Mr. Gomez was sweating heavily and had twitching under his eyes, which prompted the officer to call for rescue personnel,” Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler said.
Upon his arrival at the hospital about 2:30 p.m., Gomez complained of unspecified pain and nausea. The officer stayed with Gomez at the hospital for a couple of hours until doctors cleared him to go, police said.
Then, after a series of tests, doctors diagnosed Gomez with general weakness and discharged him after 8 p.m. A security guard escorted him to a bus stop.
A hospital spokesperson said they can’t provide details on the treatment Gomez received, even after his death.
“I can’t speak of the training and certifications of the medical staff there,” Roessler said. “I trust their evaluations.”
McPartlin, an 18-year veteran, had undergone crisis intervention team training, which help law enforcement officers handle incidents involving people with mental health issues, police said. He was placed on routine administrative leave.
