CONCORD — Police officers shouted several warnings at a man and fired shots at him while he refused to drop a large sharp kitchen knife he was using to stab his father, police said and videos released by the department showed.
It all happened on Feb. 18, when officers shot and killed 47-year-old Nathan Keesler, of Antioch. Police said that Keesler attacked his father at a home in the 1900 block of Natoma Boulevard. Police were called to the home about 1:40 a.m. by Keesler’s mother.
Video from officers’ body-worn cameras released by the department showed Keesler holding the knife in his hand throughout the entire encounter.
Police also identified the officers who responded. The first two to the scene were Sgt. Christopher Souza and Officer Roy Olson. Olson fired a gun and Souza a Taser during the sequence of events, according to police and footage.
The three that followed were identified as Corporal David Padilla and officers David Rodriguez and Keny Rodriguez. Those three also fired their guns at some point, police said.
Police said they fired 20 rounds total over three separate volleys of gunfire. More than one shot hit Keesler, but police said they won’t know the exact number of wounds he had until the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office finishes its official autopsy report. Such reports typically take at least six months to complete.
The first volley of shots happened after Olson and Souza entered the home and saw Keesler stabbing his father. Those shots left Keesler motionless, according to police and the video footage.
The second volley came along with Taser gun deployment and left Keesler motionless again. That sequence occurred after Olson moved toward the man and Keesler began to move again, appearing on the video to slash at Olson’s leg with the knife.
The third volley came after Olson tried to move Keesler’s father and Keesler again raised up with an apparent knife in his hand, the footage showed. That third volley left Keesler motionless to stay.
One bullet fired by police during the second volley hit Keesler’s father, who also was bleeding from at least three stab wounds, police said. He survived after being treated by paramedics at the scene and being rushed by ambulance to a hospital.
Police said Olson and Souza were first to the scene. Keesler’s mother frantically greets them after earlier hysterically telling a 911 dispatcher when asked who was being stabbed: “My husband. Our son’s here. He’s broke.” She told the dispatcher she was outside the house and that “I’m trying to protect myself, too.”
The two officers “formulated a quick plan where Souza would be ready with a (Taser) and Olson would be ready with a (gun). They entered through the open garage, found the door leading into the house locked and forced it open,” police said.
Video from Olson’s body-worn camera showed him kicking in a door leading from an open garage in the interior of the home and immediately hearing screaming from the father yelling for help. Olson yelled back, “Hey, drop the knife!” Kessler does. not stop the stabbing motion, and Olson fires, according to police and Olson’s video.
As Kessler lies motionless, Olson moves in on him in an attempt to kick the knife away. Instead, video shows that Keesler lunges at Olson with what appears to be a knife and Olson does a maneuver to avoid being cut in the area of his thigh. The video then records the sounds of Olson’s gunshots and Souza’s Taser, and Keesler goes still again.
Olson then tries to drag the injured man away, but video showed that Keesler again refuses to drop a knife as he begins to raise up from his prone position. By that time, the other three officers were at the scene, and police said all five barked orders for Keesler to drop the knife. When he didn’t, video shows gunfire erupting again.
Keesler was pronounced dead inside the home.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney is conducting its own investigation into the shooting.