Dramatic bodycam footage captured the final moments of a fatal confrontation between Los Angeles police and a blade-wielding man in Boyle Heights.
Zimran Canas, 44, a Los Angeles resident, was shot dead on September 7 after charging officers with an 8-foot tree trimmer equipped with a footlong serrated blade. The incident unfolded around 10 a.m. On the 600 block of Gillette Street, where Hollenbeck Division officers had responded to a call about a man with mental illness armed with a metal pipe.
A family member met the responding officers outside Canas’ residence and directed them toward the suspect before he emerged from a front gate wielding the bladed pole, police said.
The chilling video shows officers repeatedly pleading with Canas to drop the weapon as he approached them. “Put that down, man,” one officer can be heard saying as Canas emerges from the front gate of the home.
“Put it down, brother,” another cop urges, followed by repeated commands to drop the weapon as officers draw their guns.
One officer calls for backup as Canas continues advancing toward the cops, who retreated while shouting at him to put down the blade, the footage shows. Canas then quickens his pace toward the officers before gunshots ring out, sending him collapsing to the ground.
The two officers involved in the fatal shooting were identified as Juan Laguna and Brandon Barnett, both assigned to LAPD’s Hollenbeck Division. Canas was taken into custody after the shooting, though he was already mortally wounded. Officers rendered medical aid before paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators recovered the pole and a metal pipe from the scene. No officers or bystanders were injured in the encounter.
The LAPD said it will continue investigating the deadly encounter in the coming months, standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in the department.
The September 7 shooting adds to ongoing scrutiny of how police handle encounters with individuals experiencing mental health crises, particularly when weapons are involved. The initial call specifically noted Canas had mental illness, raising questions about whether alternative crisis response methods could have altered the outcome.
Bodycam footage of such incidents has become increasingly central to public understanding of police use of force, often revealing details that initial reports omit. In this case, the video documents officers’ repeated attempts to de-escalate before the fatal shots were fired.
The LAPD has not indicated when its investigation into the Laguna and Barnett shooting will conclude or whether the findings will be publicly released.