33-year-old Robert Padilla was brandishing a large knife, jumping in front of cars and shouting down S. Main St. in Belen, N.M. When police confronted Padilla, he lurched at the patrol vehicle, yelling, “Shoot me!”
Over the PA the approaching officer states: “Mr. Padilla, it’s Officer Chavez. Let’s talk okay?” The same officer had cited Padilla the day prior for reckless driving. Officers surrounded Padilla, guns drawn, when the officer closest to Padilla hit him with a Taser shot, incapacitating the man. He was then arrested.
According to his brother, Padilla suffers from PTSD. Belen Police Chief Dan Robb says his department intends to use the video to train officers in how to deploy less-lethal force and deescalate tense encounters.
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