Disturbing bodycam footage shows final moments of knife-wielding autistic man killed by SoCal cops

Police bodycam footage released Friday showed an autistic man charging at police with a knife while experiencing a mental health breakdown before cops shot and killed the 20-year-old.The Irvine Police Department shared video of the disturbing encounter on July 21, when Daniel Meltvedt called 911 to say he recently stopped taking an anti-psychotic medication and wanted to take his life.When officers arrived and met Meltvedt, he appeared to be standing at the entrance of a closed-off trail in a residential neighborhood as a number of cops watched on from a distance.He is seen holding a kitchen knife and repeatedly said he wanted officers to shoot and kill him.

The footage revealed the intense conversations officers had with Meltvedt as they attempted to persuade him to drop the weapon.“I’m not afraid of any of you to die,” he can be heard saying to officers of the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team.“If I die, I die, guess what.”An officer responds saying that comment scared him and asks Meltvedt why he called police, to which he responds that he was worried about his own safety.“I was ready to die,” he is heard saying.The negotiator makes more pleas to Meltvedt to drop the knife so they can help him, before Meltvedt says at one point he may have intentions of hurting the officers.The moment became more tense when some officers pull out tasers, which Meltvedt appears to perceives to be a threat.

At that point, he is heard pleading for officers to “take the shot.”“I can’t wait for you to kill me today,” he says.“I’d rather you shoot me because, if not, all your employees are getting killed.” California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story The footage also showed an officer asking the young man’s father, Erich Meltvedt, how to c...