KRON4 has learned the name of the man who was killed in the bizarre deputy-involved tasing incident that shut down a popular highway along the Peninsula for hours.
This happened in Millbrae on El Camino Real between Santa Helena Avenue and Millwood Drive.
A neighbor who knew the victim nearly all his life spoke to KRON4 on Thursday. He or she declined to say words but confirmed that the victim is 36-year-old Chinedu Valentine Okobi.
“I’ve known him since he was a kid,” neighbor Wyatt McIntyre said. “He’s always lived on this block. My mom’s been here for 50 years. So, I watched him go from grade school, grammar school, and then to college, and it just blows me away to know that he’s not here anymore.”
He died at a local hospital on Wednesday after a struggle with sheriff deputies.
San Mateo County Sheriff Deputies tell KRON4 there was a man running in-and-out of traffic on the 1300 block of El Camino Real.
Officials say when a deputy got out of his vehicle to make contact with the man, the man immediately assaulted the deputy.
The deputy then radioed for back up and a struggled continued here on the scene.
The deputy was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries. The man was also taken to a local hospital where he died. KRON4 is told that gunfire was not involved.
At this time, we don’t know what the man was doing, what he was running from if anything.
“You know, I feel sorry for his mom,” McIntyre said. “I feel sorry for his mom and his family. My heart goes out to them. But you know these days, the police got, they got a job to do and in certain situations, things like this happen. I’m not condoning what happened, but you know, until they find out exactly what happened. You know, again my heart goes out to his family.”
Because this was a fatal officer-involved incident, the San Mateo County District Attorney and the county coroner’s office is handling this investigation.