On Wednesday, November 30th at about 10:42 p.m. two uniformed officers responded to an arson. A reporting party advised dispatch that there was a Hispanic male setting fire to a palm tree at a vacant residence. The officers responded within minutes of the call. They arrived and encountered a person in the driveway who was later identified as Delfino Avila. At first, Avila was holding a wooden bludgeon out in front of him toward officers.
They attempted to de-escalate the situation by giving him loud and clear commands both in English and Spanish to drop what was in his hand. Once the officers were closer to him, he held the object above his head as if he was about to swing it at them. Avila walked towards the garage where he armed himself with a shovel, which he later dropped. The officers provided distance for safety. Avila refused to comply with commands and eventually armed himself with another wooden bludgeon.
A Taser was deployed but was ineffective. Avila charged at the assisting officer, swinging the wooden bludgeon several times to attempt to hit the officer. The other officer fired their service weapon, striking Avila.
Officers immediately requested AMR paramedics however, Avila succumbed to his injuries. There were several witnesses to the event as it unfolded.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the criminal investigation is asked to contact Detective D. Martinez at (909)384-5619.