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.