Dad of 5 fatally shot by police in backyard, California cops say. ‘Loved his children’
Police shot and killed a dad of five in his backyard while officers were searching a neighboring yard, according to California authorities and local media reports.
Officers were at a home in Hemet investigating a theft on Tuesday, Feb. 21, shortly after 10 a.m. when they found an armed man in a nearby yard, the Hemet Police Department said in a news release.
An officer shot the man, police said. No officers were injured.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Christian Drye’s family called his death a “senseless act of violence” in a GoFundMe.
“This is a good man, a family man, a working man. He did not deserve this,” Shameka “Monique” Drye, the man’s wife, told The Press Enterprise.
Shameka Drye told NBC Los Angeles that prior to the shooting, police knocked on their door, asking to search their backyard, as they believed a theft suspect may be present.
Christian Drye, however, refused and told police he would check his yard with his legally purchased firearm, the outlet reported.
“They knew he was going back there because they said ‘OK,’” Shameka Drye told The Press Enterprise. “They killed my husband in cold blood.”
The officer was placed on administrative leave, police said.
An investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is ongoing, according to police.
Christian Drye’s wife remembered him as “kindhearted” in a post on Facebook.
“He loved his children very much and would buy them the world if he could,” Shameka Drye wrote.
Christian Drye leaves behind five children, ages 1 to 11, according to The Press Enterprise.
“We are all heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss, especially for his wife and young children,” a GoFundMe for the family said.
Hemet is about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Dad of 5 fatally shot by police in backyard, California cops say. ‘Loved his children’."
