Bicyclist Shot Dead by Oxnard Officer

The only sign that anything had gone wrong in the neighborhood Tuesday morning was a pool of blood and water in the gutter along E Street.

The body of Albert Trujillo Flores, 46, had already been removed by coroner’s investigators, the street had been washed off, and the quiet of the working-class neighborhood had returned with the daylight.

Flores was shot to death by Oxnard Police Officer Jack Kujawa about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Flores had pulled out an 18-inch screwdriver, raised it and then came at Kujawa as if he were going to attack, said Oxnard Police Cmdr. Joe Munoz.

Apart from Kujawa, a 4 1/2-year department veteran assigned to patrol the south Oxnard area, there were no witnesses to the shooting, Munoz said.

As is department policy, Kujawa, 29, was placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the Oxnard Police Department Internal Affairs Division.

Police say that Flores was riding his bike erratically along Hill Street near Haydock Middle School when Kujawa noticed him.

Flores turned onto the 1300 block of E Street and that is where the officer stopped him, said Munoz. As Kujawa approached, Flores pulled out the screwdriver and raised it in a threatening manner, he said.

“I can’t tell you why,” Munoz said.

Kujawa drew his gun and fired, hitting Flores in the head and chest several times. He died on the street soon after, emergency personnel said.

Although authorities released no information about how many times Kujawa fired, neighbors described hearing anywhere from five to nine shots.

Alfred Flores, who is unrelated to the dead man, described hearing nine shots and looking out his window.

“I saw the officer letting a clip out of his gun and then putting in another clip,” Alfred Flores said. “He was leaning down behind the patrol car and at first I thought someone was shooting at him.”

Kujawa, who fired no further shots, was pointing his gun at the ground, Alfred Flores said.

“He was sort of walking like he was walking around someone and he was pointing his gun down,” he said. “No one said nothing.”

Daniel Flores, Alfred’s brother, said Kujawa appeared dazed after the shooting. “He really was out of it. . . . He looked real nervous.”

Both men were interviewed by detectives.

Munoz said Albert Flores had a previous arrest for assault and two very old arrests for misdemeanors.

The manager of a mobile-home park where Albert Flores lived for several years said he was kicked out of the complex in 1993 after a violent argument with his girlfriend.

“He hasn’t been here since,” said Becky Gales, manager of Gales & Cales Real Estate on Oxnard Boulevard.

Flores is survived by his mother, who lives in Oxnard.

The last man killed by an Oxnard police officer was Larry Pankey, who was fatally shot in January 1996 by a sharpshooter during a standoff with police after a domestic disturbance call. Before that, the last civilian fatally shot by Oxnard police died in August 1995.

An Oxnard officer shot and wounded a man in late November 1996 after police say he grabbed an officer’s gun during a struggle.