Knife-wielding man shot dead by police had prior arrests for domestic abuse

By Mick Akers

Monday, April 2, 2018 | 7:50 p.m.

Metro Police say a man who was shot dead last week by a pair of officers during a domestic violence call had been arrested twice previously.

Police responded to Siegel Suites at 2000 Paradise Road at 11:47 a.m. Thursday responding to a domestic violence dispute.

Upon arrival, officers encountered a female victim who said her boyfriend, later identified as Christopher Gatewood, 39, hit her and was inside their apartment armed with a knife.

Gatewood had two previous arrests for domestic violence and sale of a controlled substance, police said.

The woman told police that Gatewood was possibly suicidal and wanted to either hurt the cops or have the cops shoot him, according to Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank.

Metro officers Rafael Camacho and Kenshin Rose and a third unnamed officer approached Gatewood’s apartment, and he cracked the door open displaying a 12-inch butcher knife and yelling profanities at the officers. Officers gave several verbal commands for Gatewood to drop the knife.

Gatewood then exited the apartment, still armed with the knife, yelling “What are you going to do?” Gatewood then moved aggressively toward Officers Camacho and Rose, and they fired their handguns, Camacho discharging eight rounds and Rose discharging four, striking Gatewood 11 times, Hank said. Simultaneously, the third officer discharged his taser at Gatewood.

All the events were captured on cameras the officers were wearing at the time.

Medical assistance was called to the scene for Gatewood, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A search of the suspect’s apartment revealed evidence of methamphetamine use and that Gatewood had a self-inflicted knife wound to his right wrist, police said.

Responding to domestic violence calls can be dangerous and unpredictable, Hank said, as a lot of emotions are involved and the aggressor in the incident often becomes aggressive with police.

“While we attempt to resolve these disputes peacefully, sometimes the parties involved dictate how officers must respond,” Hank said. “These calls are never easy for our officers.”

This marks the fourth officer-involved shooting this year — the second one involving a fatality. At the same time last year there was two officer-involved shootings with one death.

Officer Camacho, 28, is a four-year veteran with Metro, and Officer Rose, 28, has been on the force for eight months and is in field training. Both officers are assigned to the tourist safety division of the downtown area command.

Gatewood would have faced charges of battery domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person if he had survived.