Police shot and killed a man who was armed with a knife late Sunday after a traffic stop that led to a dramatic standoff during which a high-power stream of water was sprayed into the vehicle.
Police tried to pull the man over for a traffic code violation involving a broken tail light Sunday night in the 100 block of West Katella Avenue. Authorities confirmed that there was a warrant associated with the van, but no details were immediately available.
The man drove for several blocks before stopping in parking lot and barricading himself inside the minivan. The shirtless driver had a gas can and lighter inside the vehicle, and he lit at least one cigarette during the standoff in an Orange strip mall, police said.
"He refused to come out of the car," said Lt. Fred Lopez. "At some point, they started smelling gasoline. He does pour the gasoline onto some type of cloth or rag. At that point, they felt like they needed to do something to extract him out of the car, to prevent him from either lighting himself on fire or lighting the vehicle on fire."
Officers began smashing the vehicle's windows and spraying a high-power stream of water inside the minivan. It was an unusual tactic designed to get the man out of the vehicle and prevent a fire, Lopez said.
"I've never seen it myself, but I feel it was an excellent idea," said Lopez. "It's especially hard to start a fire when you're covered in water."
The man crawled out the driver's side window and officers opened fire after he brandished a knife, police said. Rubber bullets also were used before the fatal rounds were fired, police said.
The man died at a hospital. He was identified as Michael Perez, a 33-year-old man with a criminal history involving weapons violations and narcotics.
Perez was a father of six children ages 3 to 18.
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His daughter, Monique Perez, questions why police used a firehose to flush her father out of the van.
"He was goofy and funny and he was just outgoing and I miss him," she said. "I feel like the cops shouldn't have did that at all."
