Oakland Police Department recently released a bodycam video of a fatal shooting of a suspect who was wielding a homemade weapon at officers. The incident occurred in July this year at a strip mall parking lot at 40th and International Boulevard in the Fruitvale neighborhood of East Oakland.
Police officers responded to an emergency call from the California Highway Patrol at 2.12 p.m. on July 13, 2026. The officers reported encountering a man at a homeless encampment along State Route 185 next to 42nd Avenue and south of San Leandro Street.
The bodycam video compilation showed the accused refusing to cooperate with the police officers. The CHP and Oakland police officers were commanding the 43-year-old Jose Castillo to drop the weapons, but he did not comply.
He had made two identical weapons using two large knives attached to long poles in the form of a spear. The officer told him, “You’re detained right now. “You need to drop those right now.” Castillo pointed the weapon at the officer and threatened him. The officers pointed their weapons at Castillo, but he walked away towards SR 185.
Later, police officers found him around 12th Street and 41st Avenue. Despite multiple calls to drop his weapon, he refused to comply. He threatened the officers and got away from them.
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Castillo was about to approach a bystander and two young kids who were hiding behind a tree. At that time, an officer who had a stun gun blocked his path. Some officers followed behind him along 41st Avenue, asking him to drop the weapons.
However, Castillo told the officers, “I don’t have to do anything. Leave me alone! I’m leaving!” He reached the strip mall parking lot and turned around, facing the officers. Two officers shot him with their stun guns.
This did not stop Castillo from swinging spears at the officers. He was 15 to 20 feet away from the officers when two of them fired multiple rounds of gunshots at him within five seconds. The officers’ identities haven’t been revealed yet. In the bodycam video, about seven to eight shots can be heard.
According to the AB 748 law, videos that show use of force, such as officers firing their guns at anyone, have to be released to the public within 45 days of the shooting.
There has been limited information about Castillo, and some people also criticized the department for not releasing more information about the incident. The Anti-Police-Terror Project wrote on social media, “Police cannot kill someone, control the evidence, control the timeline, control the story, and then ask the public to trust them.”
Officers tried to provide medical aid to him but pronounced him dead at the scene. The incident is currently under investigation, and the police department is looking for Castillo’s next of kin.
Meanwhile, the internal affairs unit and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office will also investigate the shooting because of the official protocol. In addition, the city’s Community Police Review Agency is also investigating the shooting.
Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.
