Santa Cruz Police Shoot and Kill Man on Westside

Officers with the Santa Cruz Police Department shot and killed a man outside of a home on the corner of Chace and Getchell Streets, in a residential neighborhood, on the west side of Santa Cruz. Preliminary reports from the media have stated that a 32-year-old man experiencing mental health issues was advancing towards police with a gardening rake when officers deemed him a threat and shot and killed him at about 3:30 am on October 16.

What appears to be a small rake lays in the street at the scene of the police killing that occurred on Chace Street on Sunday morning.

At noon on October 16, police were still processing the scene. A small garden rake could be seen lying on Chace Street, with a numbered evidence marker next to it. In addition to SCPD, deputies with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office were also processing evidence.

Commercial media outlets have reported that police were initially called to a home on Chace Street after the victim had attempted to enter the residence and was making threatening statements towards those inside.

As of the publication of this article, the Santa Cruz Police have not made any information about the killing available to the public.


UPDATE (10/18)

More information about the Santa Cruz police killing on October 16 has been released to the public.

Sean Smith Arlt is the name of the person killed. He was 32.

Arlt was in the backyard of a house on Chace Street when police first encountered him. They say they ordered him to leave.

Once Arlt left the backyard and advanced towards officers with the garden rake, approximately 20 seconds passed before a single officer fired two shots to kill him. Police say they attempted to tase Arlt prior to shooting him during that 20 second period as well.

None of the police reports released to the public state that Arlt made any physical contact with the officers as he was advancing towards them.

According to a press release from SCPD dated October 17, there is an audio recording of Arlt's killing:

"Based on the audio recording, once Mr. Arlt emerged from the backyard, this situation unfolded in approximately 20 seconds. Because of the rapid succession of events, the officers did not have the opportunity to dialogue and negotiate with Mr. Arlt."

Chace Street

Police focused much of their efforts on the interior of the garage of one home on Chace Street.

A deputy with the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office.