Palm Springs officer-involved shooting suspect identified

A man who was shot by a Palm Springs Police Department officer last week after reportedly getting into an altercation with officers has been identified.

43-year-old Kevyn Weintraub is being held in Indio Jail on $25,000 bail, according to county jail records.

He faces three felony charges; battery with serious injury, assault on a person causing great bodily injury, and obstruction/resisting an officer. He is set to appear at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.

Weintraub reportedly was waving a knife in the air and was engaged in a fight with four other individuals before PSPD responded to the scene near the intersection of Ramon Road and Palm Canyon Drive around 4:17 p.m. on Thursday.

Jeff Orozco, the owner of Gentlemen’s Barber Shop near the scene of the officer-involved shooting, spoke with News Channel 3 about the moments leading up the incident.

“He wasn’t just targeting Mexicans, in a way he was, but even the gay guys, the gay community he was calling them the ‘f word’ and all that and it’s not cool. It’s not cool to treat people like that,” Orozco said.

Other people on scene echoed Orozco’s depiction of the events.

“What he told me is that something happened…a gentleman went into a barbershop and pulled a knife and was threatening people and was yelling inappropriate racial slurs or something,” said Ken Wilson.

A Palm Springs Police Department officer who was injured during the officer-involved shooting incident was released from the hospital the next day.

PSPD originally said that the officer, who has not been identified, had sustained minor injuries during the altercation, but those injuries were upgraded to moderate a short time after the OIS.

“I did witness the second officer, his hand it was like his wrist was hyperextended …contorted…and a large amount of blood,” said Philip Becerra, an eyewitness to the incident.

Officers were originally called to the Bank of America across from the eventual scene of the OIS.

ORIGINAL STORY: Man hospitalized after officer-involved shooting in Palm Springs

The initial report, according to PSPD Lieutenant William Hutchinson, was for a fight involving five people in the area of the Bank of America in that area. One of the involved parties was reportedly wielding a knife, attempting to stab people.

When officers arrived, there was a fight between officers and the armed man almost immediately, leading to a man being shot by officers.

S Palm Canyon between Camino Parocela and Ramon Road and S Indian Canyon between Camino Parocela and Ramon Road were closed for several hours during the investigation.

PSPD is asking for any witnesses or those with video of the incident to contact police.