The Fresno Police Department has released edited body-worn camera footage from an August 23 incident that ended with officers fatally shooting a man following a domestic violence call.<\/p>\n
The video begins with a 911 call placed around 1:45 p.m.<\/p>\n
“My husband was hitting me. He tried to kill me,” the caller told dispatchers.<\/p>\n
Police say the call came from an apartment complex near Blythe Avenue and Austin Way.<\/p>\n
The woman reported her husband, 41-year-old Joseph Merical, had strangled her before she escaped with their baby.<\/p>\n
She also warned officers he might harm himself and could be armed with a knife.<\/p>\n
EXCLUSIVE: Widow of man killed by Fresno Police shares her story of survival<\/a><\/p>\n When officers arrived, they found Merical had barricaded himself inside the apartment.<\/p>\n For about 90 minutes, police say they tried to communicate with him without success. Officers eventually broke a kitchen window and rammed the front door.<\/p>\n Bodycam video shows Merical standing on a couch, blocking the doorway with a knife in hand.<\/p>\n SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were called in, but Merical refused to surrender.<\/p>\n Just after 8 p.m., police say Merical opened the door and quickly walked down the stairs holding a knife in each hand, moving toward officers near the carports.<\/p>\n Officers first deployed less-lethal rounds, but when Merical continued advancing, two officers fired their rifles.<\/p>\n Merical was given medical aid at the scene but later died at the hospital.<\/p>\n Joseph’s wife, Gisela Gonzalez Merical, spoke exclusively to Action News, saying the release of the video has set her back in the grieving process.<\/p>\n “It’s just reigniting all those wounds and reopening them, it’s two steps back,” says Gonzalez Merical.<\/p>\n Since the traumatic day, the family has laid Merical to rest, and Gisela and her daughter have been in therapy.<\/p>\n Gisela says she understands the need for transparency and was horrified by her husband’s actions, but fears the images of his final moments could become a public spectacle.<\/p>\n “While it’s normal for humans to have curiosity to like oh my gosh what happened, and ignite curiosity, I just like it to be a reminder that’s also someone’s father and that’s also his last moments that’s someone losing blood and by the second their final breaths,” says Gonzalez Merical.<\/p>\n She added that her husband struggled with mental health issues and had sought help before the incident.<\/p>\n Meantime, police say their investigation remains ongoing and no one else was physically hurt during this incident.<\/p>\n If you are the victim of domestic abuse, or you know someone who is, there is help available 24\/7. In Fresno County, call the Marjaree Mason Center<\/a> at (559) 233-4357. In all other locations, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233.<\/p>\n For news and weather updates, follow Brisa Col\u00f3n on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n