The Butte County District Attorney’s Office has cleared Chico Police of wrongdoing in an October officer involved shooting that left a 30-year-old man dead. The ordeal began when a woman reported a man with a knife briefly chasing her 15-year-old daughter at a community park. He was gone when officers arrived but shortly afterward a security guard encountered Stephen Vest walking out of the park, and he tried to stab the guard through his open passenger side window, then jumped on the hood and started stabbing the windshield. The guard hit the gas and Vest fell off. As he walked away down Martin Luther King Parkway the guard followed along next to him. When Vest came at the guard with the knife again the guard shot his taser at him, but it didn’t do much. When Vest got to the intersection at East 20th he began attacking cars, breaking at least one windshield. Two Chico Police officers arrived in time to see Vest with the knife chasing two men into a nearby Petco store. When they ran back out and behind the officers for cover, Vest ran out chasing them and was confronted by the two officers. He kept advancing until the officers opened fire. In body camera footage, 9 shots can be heard. It can be seen through the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oybumgk5hi&feature=youtu.be