A man is dead after Santa Monica police shot him during a confrontation in Palisades Park on Saturday afternoon, when officers say he ran at them holding a knife. The shooting happened near the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue around 1:46 p.m., as officers were investigating a reported domestic violence incident nearby. Police say the man was not connected to that case.
According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, officers were on scene handling the domestic violence call when the man ran at them holding a knife. Police said an officer opened fire after the man charged, striking him. Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. No officer was reported injured during the incident.
A statement from the City of Santa Monica placed the shooting at approximately 1:46 p.m. on Saturday and confirmed that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Officer Involved Shooting Response Team was notified to conduct an independent investigation alongside local police detectives. That team, part of the DA's Justice System Integrity Division, routinely reviews officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death across the county.
Investigators Comb the Scene as Area Stays Closed
The area remained an active crime scene as investigators conducted a preliminary review and collected evidence, the department's report noted. Police asked the public to avoid the area while the investigation continued and said additional information would be released as it becomes available.
Under California law, officers are permitted to use deadly force only when they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, a standard set by Assembly Bill 392 and codified in Penal Code Section 835a. That statute, passed by the California State Legislature in 2019, replaced the state's older reasonable-force standard with a stricter necessity test. The DA's review will assess whether the officer's actions met that bar. Under separate state transparency rules, Senate Bill 1421, body-worn camera footage and other investigative records from officer-involved shootings are ultimately subject to mandatory public disclosure.
Another Violent Encounter in a Park With a History
Saturday's shooting is not the first violent confrontation to unfold in or near Palisades Park in recent years. In October 2024, a Santa Monica police officer was stabbed outside police headquarters by a knife-wielding man, who the officer then shot and killed; that officer survived and was treated at a local hospital, as Hoodline previously reported. In June 2025, a suspect was arrested in Palisades Park after allegedly shooting and injuring an SMPD officer near Santa Monica Place, prompting the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to file three counts of attempted murder in a case Hoodline also covered. And in March 2023, a city worker was stabbed in the same block of Palisades Park while trying to wake a sleeping individual, according to the Santa Monica Lookout.
The pattern comes even as the city's overall violent crime and burglary numbers have been falling. Department data released in March showed major Part I offenses dropped 12.5 percent in 2025, from 4,793 incidents in 2024 to 4,194, while officer-initiated activity grew to make up more than half of all calls for service, according to the City of Santa Monica. That shift toward proactive policing has taken shape under Police Chief Darrick Jacob, who became permanent chief in January after former Chief Ramón Batista departed in August 2025, the Santa Monica Daily Press has reported separately. Palisades Park itself has long drawn heavy police attention: officers responded to more than 6,500 calls for service across the city's 26 public parks in 2023, with Palisades Park identified as one of seven high-priority parks receiving targeted patrols.
