New video shows fatal shooting of Black man in California

Credit: CBSNews
Credit: CBSNews

▶ Watch Video: California officers acused of fatally shooting Black man after jaywalking stop

A newly released video shows a deadly confrontation between sheriff’s deputies and a homeless man in San Clemente, California, in September. 

In the video, two Orange County sheriff’s deputies are heard casually deciding whether to confront 42-year-old Kurt Reinhold. The deputies were on patrol assigned to the homeless outreach team. 

“Watch this, he’s going to jaywalk,” one of the deputies said. 

A deputy then asks Reinhold, “Are you going to stop or are we going to have to make you stop?” 

“Jaywalking here? That’s ridiculous,” Reinhold said. 

Witness cellphone video shows the confrontation quickly escalating. “What is your problem? Why are you touching me?” Reinhold said.

Minutes later, both deputies tackled Reinhold. One of the deputies shouted that Reinhold had his gun. Surveillance video appears to show Reinhold’s hand near one of their holsters. Then, a deputy fires two shots. 

The only official comment has been a prerecorded video from the sheriff’s department that said it is withholding judgment “until all facts are known and the investigations are complete.” 

Protest Over Killing of Black Homeless Man
A photo of Kurt Andras Reinhold at a memorial in San Clemente on September 24, 2020. 

Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register via Getty

John Taylor, the Reinhold family’s attorney, said the September 23 encounter was “a blatant, racially motivated stop.” 

“They create the confrontation. They escalate the confrontation. They are the first person to put their hands on him and they end up taking his life, shooting him to death,” Taylor said. 

Reinhold’s family has filed suit against Orange County,  alleging that deputies violated his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights and were guilty of negligence, according to CBS Los Angeles. The deputies, though reassigned, have returned to duty.

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