Riverside Man Killed by Police Is Identified

A man who was shot and killed by Riverside police officers Tuesday afternoon after allegedly wielding a knife was identified by authorities as Volner Lemont Stokes, 31, of Riverside.

Stokes ignored commands to drop the knife, police said. The two officers who fired their handguns at Stokes were responding to a call from a resident who reported a suspicious man in a parked car near Marguerita Avenue and Esperanza Street in the Casa Blanca neighborhood, authorities said. Stokes emerged from the car extending a knife and a screwdriver toward the officers, according to a police spokesperson.

Police said officers Tina Banfill and Adam Brown feared for their lives and so shot at Stokes’ upper torso and then summoned medical help. Stokes was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Riverside police policy requires that the officers involved in the shooting be placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal review.