Charges filed against man accused of fighting Palm Springs officers, prompting OIS
Charges have been filed against the man accused of threatening people with a knife and fighting Palm Springs police officers, leading to an officer-involved shooting.
Kevyn Matthew Weintraub, 43, faces felony charges of assault on an officer with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, battery on an officer, assault on a person causing great bodily injury, resisting an officer and making a false bomb report to an officer, according to a criminal complaint filed in Riverside County Superior Court.
Weintraub was initially set to be arraigned Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio but was not medically cleared to go to court; his arraignment was rescheduled for Wednesday.
According to PSPD, the altercation with Weintraub that led to an officer-involved shooting began around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. Several 911 calls came in at that time reporting a man, later identified as Weintraub, waving a knife around and fighting people near Camino Parocela and South Palm Canyon Drive.
Jeff Orozco, the owner of Gentlemen’s Barber Shop near the scene of the shooting, told News Channel 3’s Jake Ingrassia he had heard Weintraub shouting slurs at passersby.
“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.
Officers arrived and said they found a man matching the description of the suspect.
According to police, shots were fired when Weintraub wouldn’t comply with commands and tried to fight with officers. He suffered a non-life- threatening injury and was booked into the Indio jail after officers rendered medical aid.
A PSPD officer sustained a moderate injury and was taken to a hospital.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting.
According to jail records, Weintraub remains in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside in lieu of $70,000 bail.
Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.
