Huntington Beach : Police Shoot Man in Leg After He Aims at Officer

Police shot a Huntington Beach man in the leg after he reportedly locked himself in his garage early Thursday morning and then fired into the darkness when police arrived.

Relatives of Gerald Lee Floyd, 52, called Huntington Beach police early Thursday to report that Floyd was hallucinating about burglars on his property, had armed himself with a handgun and locked himself in the garage of his Oceanview Drive home, a police spokeswoman said.

When police officers, whose names weren’t released, arrived at the Floyd home, they found that family members had locked themselves inside the house for protection, spokeswoman JoAnne Bergstrom said. Floyd allegedly opened the garage door and fired at least 10 rounds, she said.

“The officers repeatedly asked him to drop his weapon,” Bergstrom said. “He refused to drop the weapon and took aim at one of the officers. The second officer, fearing for his partner’s safety, took aim and shot the suspect in the leg.”

Floyd was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. No bail has been listed, Bergstrom said, and Floyd is being held in police custody at UCI Medical Center.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maurice Evans said Huntington Beach police officials have asked the district attorney’s office to investigate the shooting. Such a request is normal procedure for police departments in the county.