A 38-year-old Cal State San Bernardino graduate student whose family said suffered from bipolar disorder was shot and killed by campus police during a struggle at an off-campus dorm.
Bartholomew Williams died during the fight with campus police who were responding to a disturbance in a common area around the University Village dorm in the 1500 block of West Northpark Boulevard at 6:39 p.m. on Saturday, said Lt. Paul Williams of the San Bernardino Police Department.
Officers resorted to using deadly force when Bartholomew Williams became violent toward officers, Lt. Williams said.
Police used verbal commands, pepper spray and a baton in the confrontation, police said. Two officers fired weapons, striking Williams in the upper torso, police said.
The struggle between officers and Williams lasted up to 10 minutes, police said.
Before the shooting, campus police had been called out to his dorm twice in the morning after Williams was said to have been causing a disturbance and acting irrational, police said.
Later in the day, three campus police officers returned to handcuff him for a psychological evaluation when he resisted and a fight broke out, police said.
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Police described Bartholomew Williams, who stood 6 foot 2 and weighed 200 pounds, as having “super-human strength.”
During the struggle, Bartholomew Williams grabbed the pepper spray from police and used it on the officer who fell. Once the officer was on the ground, police said, Bartholomew Williams began kicking him on the head, police said.
That officer was taken to a hospital and treated for non-life threatening wounds.
Students, who were notified about the incident by a campus text alert system, reacted in horror.
“It’s pretty scary,” said senior Tanisha Jackson. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this on a college campus.”
University spokesman Sid Robinson said Bartholomew Williams had come to the attention of school officials in the past, but he did not have specifics on Sunday.
Bartholomew Williams was a second-year graduate student pursuing his master's degree in educational instructional technology. His family told KTLA that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his 20s. Investigators said he wasn't taking his medication.
