Officer shoots alleged knife-wielding man
Jackson Bell
A Burbank man who reportedly confronted a police officer with a
butcher knife before being shot has been charged with felony assault.
Tom Bernard McCoy, 58, was arrested Friday on suspicion of
attempted murder after he charged a police officer with a butcher
knife and ignored the officer’s orders to drop the weapon, Burbank
Police Lt. Dave Gabriel said.
When McCoy continued his approach, the officer shot him once in
the torso, Gabriel said.
McCoy appeared in court Tuesday, but his arraignment was postponed
until Jan. 13. He is facing one count of felony assault on a peace
officer and one count of exhibiting a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor.
The officer, whose name was not released by police, was among the
first to respond to a call of an agitated male threatening his family
and himself with a butcher knife. When the officer arrived at the
residence in the 500 block of North Griffith Park Drive about 7:30
p.m. Friday he was confronted by McCoy, police said.
McCoy was treated at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and
discharged Saturday night, hospital spokesman Dan Boyle said. McCoy
was transported from an infirmary at Los Angeles County jail for his
arraignment in Burbank Superior Court on Tuesday, L.A. County
Sheriff’s Deputy Alba Yates said.
McCoy is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at Los Angeles County
jail in downtown Los Angeles.
The officer involved in the shooting is on indefinite
administrative leave and will likely undergo counseling, Gabriel
said. An internal investigation has been launched within the police
department, he said.