Officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have released a video that contains updates on the Valencia deputy-involved shooting that occurred in the parking lot of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station parking lot back in March, including footage from the incident.

Note: The video below contains footage that some may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released a Critical Incident Briefing Friday evening, where Commander Christopher Reed details the circumstances of a deputy-involved shooting that occured in the parking lot of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on March 1.

“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department conducts very thorough use-of-force investigations,” Reed said. “Each deputy-involved shooting is a traumatic event for all involved. These incidents go through several layers of investigation and analysis.”

The footage of the incident was captured by two close-circuit cameras set up around the station, according to Reed.

At around 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, Raymundo Ceja, a 32 year-old Newhall resident with no previous criminal record, pulled into the public parking lot of the station on the 23700 block of Magic Mountain Parkway in a 2012 Hyundai.

“He remained inside of his car until shortly before 2:30 p.m.,” Reed said. “Despite the signs restricting access, he drove his car into the restricted area of the sheriff’s station, and circled the parking lot.”

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During this time, personnel at the station were undergoing a shift change, and video footage shows that the parking lot was busy as several deputies were both loading and emptying their cars. 

Video then shows Ceja pulling into an employee parking spot. He then got out of his car and blocked the way of a deputy who had just begun his shift and was assigned a civilian observer to ride along with him for the day.

“As the deputy drove through the parking lot, he encountered Raymundo Ceja, who had gotten out of his car and walked directly in the path of the patrol car and stopped, while holding a pistol in his right hand,” Reed said. 

After the deputy saw the pistol, he got out of the patrol car with his weapon drawn, ordering Ceja to drop his gun.

“Ceja ignored the deputies repeated orders, and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” Reed said. “The deputy fired twice at Ceja, striking him in the torso and causing him to fall to the ground.”

Ceja was then transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where he later died from his wounds, according to Reed.

As the investigation into the incident began, officials determined that the pistol that Ceja was carrying was actually an airsoft replica of a Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic pistol.

“The gun was equipped with a safety, a magazine, and the hammer was cocked as it would be for an actual firearm,” Reed said.

An actual Taurus 9 mm pistol (left) compared to Ceja’s airsoft replica (right).

A folding pocket knife, believed to be Ceja’s, was also later recovered from the scene. His mental state at the time of the incident is still under investigation, according to officials.

Reed gave the caveat that the department was still in the early stages of the investigation, and that their understanding of the incident “may change as additional evidence is collected, analyzed, and reviewed.

“We do not draw conclusions about whether the involved department members acted consistently with the law, our policies, and our training until after all the facts are known, and the entire investigation is complete,” he said.

In addition to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s own investigation, every deputy-involved shooting is investigated and reviewed by other independent entities, including the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to Reed.

“In the coming weeks and months, homicide investigators will continue to investigate this incident by completing additional interviews, examining additional evidence and toxicology results, and completing forensic reviews of the involved evidence,” he said.

To watch the full Critical Incident Briefing, check out the video above, or click here.

Ed Note: The video linked above contains footage that some may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

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