A 32-year-old Menifee man was hospitalized in stable condition after an officer shot him during a family disturbance on Eridanus Drive.
According to an account published by Canyon Lake Insider, Menifee police officers went to a residence in the 28000 block after reports of a physical altercation among family members. Police identified the man who was shot as Ismel Armenta of Menifee.
Officers tried a Taser, which was ineffective, and an officer then shot him.
Officers secured the knife and gave immediate medical aid before Armenta was taken to a local hospital. The two officers involved were not injured.
The department said both officers will be placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, under department policy. The report says the Riverside County Force Investigation Detail investigates officer-involved shootings and includes representatives from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office.
California’s AB 1506 requires the state Department of Justice to investigate officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed civilian; its mandate is narrower than shootings generally. Separately, state law makes records related to an officer firing a gun at a person subject to public inspection under the California Public Records Act, though agencies may delay some disclosures during an active investigation under specified conditions. The state DOJ outlines AB 1506’s scope, and Penal Code section 832.7 addresses disclosure and delays.
The criminal inquiry is distinct from Menifee Police Department’s internal review: department policy calls for a separate administrative investigation to determine whether officers followed department policy, supervised by its Professional Standards and Training Unit. The department’s 2025 use-of-force analysis counted 36 incidents among 42,116 calls for service, including one fatal officer-involved shooting; the department said all 36 cases were reviewed and deemed within policy. The department policy manual and its 2025 analysis describe those reviews and figures.
The Force Investigation Detail is a county task force for criminal investigations of officer-involved shootings, supervised by the Sheriff’s Department and staffed by sheriff’s and District Attorney’s investigators. It was established in 2020 after the county police chiefs’ association and Sheriff adopted shared investigation protocols; the county Board of Supervisors endorsed the arrangement that July. The District Attorney’s Office describes the detail’s role, while a county document records its creation.
