Police Kill Mentally Ill Man Wielding a Knife

A mentally ill man was shot to death by Hanford police after he allegedly walked toward officers holding a large kitchen knife, officials said.

Police answered a call from the Kings County Mental Health Department saying that the victim, identified by a neighbor as Mario Perez, had stopped taking his medication and had become violent.

The health officials who called wanted the man to be evaluated and taken to a hospital for treatment, a Police Department news release said.

Perez was sitting on his couch, holding a knife when officers arrived. He got up, refused to put down the knife and approached the officers in a “threatening manner,” the police department’s news release said.