Irvine police released bodycam footage of officers shooting and killing Daniel Meltvedt, 20, during a mental health crisis.
The Irvine Police Department shared video Friday of the July 21 encounter in which Meltvedt, who was autistic and experiencing a breakdown after stopping his anti-psychotic medication, was shot dead after charging at officers with a kitchen knife. The footage shows an hour-plus standoff at the entrance of a closed-off trail in a residential neighborhood, where Meltvedt repeatedly told officers he wanted them to kill him.
“I’m not afraid of any of you to die,” Meltvedt can be heard saying to officers from the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team. “If I die, I die, guess what.”
An officer responds that the comment scared him and asks why Meltvedt called police, to which Meltvedt says he was worried about his own safety.
“I was ready to die,” he is heard saying.
The negotiator makes additional pleas for Meltvedt to drop the knife so they can help him, before Meltvedt indicates at one point that he may have intentions of hurting the officers. The situation escalates when some officers pull out tasers, which Meltvedt appears to perceive as a threat. At that point, he begins pleading for officers to “take the shot.”
“I can’t wait for you to kill me today,” he says. “I’d rather you shoot me because, if not, all your employees are getting killed.”
The footage also shows an officer asking Meltvedt’s father, Erich Meltvedt, how to calm his son down. The father was present during the standoff but was reportedly kept from talking directly to his son to prevent further escalation. He advised officers to “tell him exactly what to do.”
Around 1 p.m., officers appear increasingly frustrated and begin making more forceful comments to Meltvedt.
“I’m tired of playing with you. I’m tired of screwing around,” one officer says. “I’ve told you several times, quit playing with my officers. Put the knife down now!”
After more shouting by law enforcement, Meltvedt asks, “Are those guns?” Before running toward officers with the knife in his hand. As he nears a line of officers, eight gunshots ring out. Paramedics later rendered medical aid, but Meltvedt was pronounced dead at a hospital.
In the viral moment that preceded the footage release, Erich Meltvedt had criticized police for what he claimed was an over-aggressive response, telling the Los Angeles Times last month: “I thought they’d come to help him, but they killed him instead,” He added: “They had seven guys there and you’re telling me they can’t take down one guy with a 5-inch blade.” The father also told the Orange County Register he hasn’t been able to bring himself to watch the newly released bodycam footage. Meltvedt had worked as a clerk at a grocery store and had been sent home from a rough day on the job before the incident, his father said.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting, a probe that police have said could take up to a year.