Body cam: Oakland police kill man with makeshift spears

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland police released new body-camera and surveillance video on Wednesday documenting a fatal police shooting of a man armed with two homemade spears – the third officer-involved shooting this year. 

Police contact

What we know:

Officers contacted 43-year-old Jose Angel Castillo on July 13 at 40th Avenue and International Boulevard following a previous encounter involving the California Highway Patrol.

In the video footage, officers can be heard ordering Castillo to put down the weapons. "You need to drop those right now," an officer said. "We're the police, man. Don't do that."

Swinging spear

Police said that after giving several warnings, Castillo swung one of the spears toward officers. 

Two officers used their Tasers, and two officers fired shots, according to text in the edited video that police released.

The entire video, reviewed in full by KTVU following a public records request, shows Castillo taking one swing with the spear, but at a distance from the officers. 

 Castillo died at the scene.

Deadly force justified?

What they're saying:

Civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, who also reviewed the video, expressed concern regarding certain aspects of the incident, questioning whether the level of force used was warranted.

"Did it justify deadly force?" Chanin said. "There are lots of people who are threats, the question is, what kind of force is justified? I think there are arguments on both sides. That’s why I’m really withholding judgment until all the evidence is in."

The fatal incident remains under investigation by the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.