CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. (AP) — A Lake County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man armed with a knife, ending a fight that sent the deputy to a hospital with a fractured leg, authorities said.
The altercation Saturday night began near a Clearlake Oaks store and ended in a creek bed, Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich told the Press Democrat.
Medical aid was provided to the man, but he died from his injuries at the scene, Paulich said. The Sheriff’s Office has not released his name.
The deputy involved was Wesley Besgrove, who has been with the agency for four years, and has been on patrol for a little over a year after spending the previous three in corrections, Paulich said.
Besgrove suffered several injuries, including a broken leg, bruised head and bite marks, Paulich said. He was treated at St. Helena Hospital in Clearlake and was eventually released.
Besgrove was the only deputy at the scene during the fight.
Paulich said the Sheriff’s Office can’t yet release more information about the incident Besgrove was responding to, including the number of shots fired or where the man was struck due to the ongoing investigation by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Sheriff Brain Martin said he intends to release any video that was taken during incident to comply with a transparency law enacted in July that requires agencies to share footage from critical incidents within 45 days.
