RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department released body cam and security video related to an incident where one of the deputies shot a man.
On the night of Saturday, Sept. 5, deputies responded to a report of a man who vandalized a fence and stole a water hose near an apartment complex in the area of Investment Circle in Rancho Cordova. The caller who reported the vandalism and theft also told the dispatcher a "toy" gun was visible.
In the press release, the sheriff's department said the object the suspect was pointing at law enforcement was an ignition timing gun, a tool to tune a car engine, that was "altered to look identical to a firearm." The press release did not specify how the suspect altered the tool.
Deputies said they gave commands to the suspect, Miguel Hernandez, and instead of following the commands, Hernandez laid on the ground before jumping up and running away, while pointing what looked like a gun at the deputies. When Hernandez, 22, reached a corner of a business, he again pointed the timing tool at deputies and a deputy shot in his direction, but did not hit Hernandez. The deputy continued to follow Hernandez.
After some time and more back and forth between Hernandez and law enforcement, the Sheriff's department reports the suspect pointed the gun at the deputies, that's when four deputies shot at the suspect, injuring him.
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Hernandez was treated for his injuries and subsequently released from the hospital. He was later booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges related to pointing a firearm at an officer. Sacramento County Sheriff's spokesperson Tess Derteing said Hernandez has since been released from custody.
