{"id":433723,"date":"2026-08-15T11:28:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433723\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T11:28:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T11:28:41","slug":"video-of-fatal-oakland-police-shooting-released-by-opd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433723\/","title":{"rendered":"Video of fatal Oakland police shooting released by OPD"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oakland Police Department on Wednesday released police body camera footage from a July 13 Fruitvale shooting<\/a> that left a person dead.<\/p>\n

That afternoon, California Highway Patrol officers were at a homeless encampment near International Boulevard and 40th Avenue in East Oakland when they saw \u201ca suspicious individual with potential weapons\u201d and called OPD for assistance, according to CHP spokesperson Sgt. Andrew Barclay. When OPD officers arrived, they saw a person \u201carmed with bladed weapons,\u201d according to a press release<\/a> issued by OPD on the day of the incident. Chief James Beere told the media<\/a> several hours after the shooting that the person \u201cattacked\u201d officers who had attempted to de-escalate the situation. Police then used less-lethal and lethal force, killing the person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The newly released videos provide the public with more transparency into the incident, Oakland\u2019s third officer-involved shooting this year.<\/p>\n

One of the videos is a nearly seven-minute, edited compilation of body camera footage from CHP and OPD officers, maps, and a text narrative describing, from the police perspective, what happened.<\/p>\n

The beginning of the video shows Castillo at a homeless encampment holding two large wooden sticks with knives affixed to the tips. CHP officers can be heard ordering him to drop the weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re detained right now. You need to drop those right now,\u201d one of the CHP officers says.<\/p>\n

Castillo holds up both spears and walks toward the officers. One of the officers points his gun, and Castillo changes direction, walking down a hill toward the highway. CHP follows him while they call OPD.<\/p>\n

When OPD officers arrive at 41st Avenue and East 12th Street, Castillo is still holding the makeshift weapons. He can be seen walking northbound away from the officers. Police repeatedly instruct him to drop his knives while more officers arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not doing nothing,\u201d Castillo tells police while walking away. \u201cLeave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo walks to the sidewalk, past a man and two children and toward a shopping center parking lot. Security camera footage shows nine officers closing in on him in the lot and ordering him multiple times to drop his weapons. One of the officers can be heard warning that force will be used.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m leaving,\u201d Castillo tells officers.<\/p>\n

Police then shoot their Tasers at Castillo, though it\u2019s unclear from the video whether the Tasers actually hit him. The man then swings one of the spears toward the officers. Within five seconds, police fire on him with pistols. Roughly eight gunshots can be heard.<\/p>\n

Two officers used their Tasers, and two officers fired shots, according to text in the video. The video text narrative also states that officers gave Castillo medical aid until paramedics arrived. Castillo died at the scene of the shooting.<\/p>\n

The compilation video can be accessed here<\/a>, as well as several body camera videos from Oakland police officers. Content warning: The footage includes graphic images and language.<\/p>\n

Under a state law known as AB 748<\/a>, certain uses of force, including any time officers fire their guns at anyone, trigger a mandate for the police to make video footage of these \u201ccritical incidents\u201d available to the public no later than 45 days after the shooting.<\/p>\n

Jim Chanin, one of the civil rights attorneys who sued OPD in the police brutality case that led to the department\u2019s 23-year federal court oversight program, said he doesn\u2019t think the shooting will impact the Negotiated Settlement Agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NSA is ending,\u201d he said in a phone interview Wednesday. \u201cI think this is going to be a test post-NSA for Internal Affairs and the Police Commission to see if they can, or have the will to, investigate this fully and fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chanin declined to comment on whether he thinks the shooting was justified, as he is waiting to review the involved officers\u2019 interviews and other body camera footage.<\/p>\n

OPD faced some criticism for not releasing more information about the shooting earlier<\/p>\n

A few days after the shooting, several activists demanded that OPD provide more information, including the deceased person\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice cannot kill someone, control the evidence, control the timeline, control the story, and then ask the public to trust them,\u201d the Anti Police-Terror Project<\/a>, a police accountability group, posted<\/a> on social media. APTP, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice<\/a>, and other activist groups rallied<\/a> outside OPD headquarters last month, calling for more details about the shooting.<\/p>\n

When The Oaklandside asked OPD for the person\u2019s name in late July, an unnamed spokesperson told us they would not release it until they were able to notify the deceased\u2019s next of kin. A technician with the Alameda County Coroner\u2019s Bureau also declined to name the person, saying OPD had placed a \u201cpress hold\u201d<\/a> on the report.<\/p>\n

The department first identified Castillo in the videos it released Wednesday. OPD said they are still attempting to contact his next of kin, and they\u2019re asking for the public\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

Robbie Powelson, a homeless advocate, sued OPD<\/a> in state court earlier this month, alleging the department violated the California Public Records Act by refusing to disclose records about the incident and department policies around use of force. OPD told Powelson, who had submitted a request for records related to the shooting, that the records are \u201cpart of an active investigation\u201d and don\u2019t need to be made public.<\/p>\n

Little is known about Castillo.<\/p>\n

However, court records show that OPD previously arrested him in June on suspicion of brandishing a machete, threatening a person, and resisting arrest. In that incident, a person had accused Castillo of attempting to steal their tools. During an argument, police said, Castillo \u201cpulled a machete from his pants and threatened to kill\u201d them. OPD later located Castillo and took him into custody. Castillo pleaded not guilty and was later released on his own recognizance.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the Oakland Housing Authority Police Department arrested Castillo after he allegedly had a stolen car and claimed it was his. While police were trying to detain him, Castillo \u201cbit an officer on scene,\u201d according to court documents. Police say they searched Castillo and the car, which was reported stolen out of San Francisco, and found a pipe and methamphetamine. Officers also said Castillo had an arrest warrant from the BART Police Department on suspicion of brandishing a weapon in a separate incident in 2023. Castillo pleaded no contest and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $220 fine.<\/p>\n

This story has been updated to include quotes from Jim Chanin.<\/p>\n

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