Vallejo family demand answers following fatal officer involved shooting

VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- A Vallejo family is demanding answers following a deadly police shooting of 21-year-old Angel Ramos.

A Vallejo police officer shot and killed Ramos, who was allegedly attacking another person with a knife early Monday morning, police said.

Officers responded at 12:38 a.m. to calls about several people fighting with weapons outside of a large party in the 1700 block of Sacramento Street, and a female was also heard yelling for help, according to police.

Officers arrived and saw two people in a fight outside a home. Ramos was allegedly holding a knife and attacking a victim, who is 16-years-old from Union City, and who was on his back, police said. Police did not immediately release any information on what injuries, if any, he suffered in the attack.

Police said in a statement that the suspect "presented himself as an immediate and lethal threat to the victim" so an officer fired his duty weapon, striking the suspect several times.

Ramos' family says he was defending his brother in the fight.

"They took my little brother, you call that justice?" said Ramos' brother. "It ain't right, they murdered my brother!"

"It was a melee, several fights going on inside/outside the house," explained Lt. Jeff Bassett with the Vallejo Police Department.

Police say people were fighting with sticks and knives. The 16-year-old was tased by police on a back deck. Police say he was jumped by Ramos, who was holding a weapon.

"When he went down, a second subject who was shot, basically pounced on him with a knife in hand," said Bassett.

Reporter: "Did the officer tell man to drop knife?"

Bassett: "There wasn't time, situation unfolded quickly."

Neighbors say they heard multiple shots. One neighbor told ABC7 News they he heard three shots.

But Ramos' family claims the knife was taken away from him before the shooting.

"I was told there was a knife in his hand. There was no knife, period. We ended up finding the knife in the kitchen," said Ramos' brother.

Investigators have not said whether they believe that knife is the same one Ramos was holding when he was shot.

The officer, who shot Ramos, remains unidentified. He's an 8 year veteran of the force.

The Solano County D.A.'s office is investigating the shooting, but Bassett says, "Our preliminary investigation indicates (the officer) acted properly."

"There was a bunch of loud noise and voices, but I didn't know what it was," said said one nearby resident, Ricardo Gregorio. "As soon as I went to bed, I hear a shooting there."

He says he was surprised, but others say it is a pretty common sound in Vallejo.

"It's horrible - on my own street, but you hear guns all the time. It's like you get used to it," explained another neighbor Barbara Brown.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (800) 488-9383.

Bay City News contributed to this report.