On Saturday, July 21, at about 9:36 a.m., officers responded to the 500 block of S. West St. in the City of Anaheim. Family members of Eliuth Penaloza Nava, a 50-year-old resident of Anaheim, called Anaheim Police Department (APD) Dispatch to report Nava was possibly on drugs and “hallucinating.” Nava was reportedly seated in his vehicle, parked on the 500 block of S West St. and the reporting party stated he was armed with a knife and gun. Officers arrived on scene at about 9:44 and attempted to contact Nava, who fled in his vehicle while brandishing a handgun at officers from his moving vehicle.
During a pursuit which traveled on nearby residential streets, an officer involved shooting occurred. Nava returned to the 500 block of S West St., where he was removed from the vehicle and it was discovered he had sustained injuries as a result of the officer involved shooting. Anaheim Fire and Rescue personnel transported Nava to UCI Medical Center in the City of Orange, where he was later pronounced deceased.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA), Special Assignment Unit responded to the scene and is the lead agency in the investigation, along with APD Homicide. The APD Major Incident Review Team (MIRT) is conducting an internal/administrative investigation, and the Office of Independent Review also responded. The involved officers’ body worn cameras were activated during the incident, and that evidence will be provided to the OCDA as part of the investigation. A BB gun resembling a handgun was recovered at the scene.
