Santa Ana officers fatally shoot 15-year-old wielding knife after bodycam release

Santa Ana police disclosed body-camera recordings of the June 14 incident in which 15-year-old Jayden Michaca approached officers with a knife and was shot dead. Responding to a 911 call about a stabbing, officers found a 53-year-old man, the teen’s mother’s boyfriend, who had been wounded and said he had taken the knife from Jayden. Inside the apartment, Jayden’s mother shouted in Spanish for him to put down the weapon while the teen repeatedly declared he wanted to be shot.

Despite repeated verbal commands, he made a slashing motion and then lunged toward the officers, prompting them to fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene; his mother sustained injuries, and the stabbing victim was taken to a hospital. Police commander Gary Cuoso said the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will examine the shooting for criminal conduct, while the department’s Internal Affairs unit conducts its own probe. Jayden’s family has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging unjustified use of deadly force.