A Thousand Oaks man was shot and killed by deputies in the early hours Wednesday as he confronted them with a knife, according to a police new release.
Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a crash in which a vehicle left the road and crashed through a fence on Hillcrest Drive, east of Duesenberg Drive, around 1:14 a.m.
When deputies arrived, the 26-year-old driver confronted them with a knife, police said. The man refused to comply with deputies’ demands to drop the knife, at which point deputies shot him several times with less-lethal bean bag rounds.
The man “continued to advance toward the deputies in a threatening manner,” police said in a news release. Deputies then shot the man with lethal rounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The deceased man was identified on Friday as Michael Johnson.
The deputies involved in the shooting were Sgt. Russell King, a 23-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and Deputy Justyn Czyrklis, a six-year veteran.