General Information
Date of Incident: June 29, 2019
Type of Incident: Officer Involved Shooting (Non-fatal)
Location: 400 block of North Macy Street, San Bernardino, CA 92410
Suspect: Lawrence Bender, 29-year-old (28 at the time of the incident) resident of San BernardinoIncident Synopsis
On Saturday, June 29, 2019, at approximately 8:11 p.m., Officer Michael Babineaux from the Rialto Police Department was involved in a confrontation with Lawrence Bender in the 400 block of North Macy Street in the city of San Bernardino. During the confrontation Mr. Bender lunged toward Officer Babineaux and swiped at his firearm, resulting in an officer-involved shooting. Officers immediately rendered medical aid to Mr. Bender until fire department personnel and paramedics arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for two gunshot wounds.
The San Bernardino Police Department responded and assumed the investigation. Mr. Bender is currently in custody awaiting trial.
Per standard protocol, the Rialto Police Department is conducting an internal investigation to ensure that policy and procedures were followed. Additionally, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is conducting an investigation into this incident.
*NOTE – The date displayed on the body-worn video recording of this incident is UTC, also known as Coordinated Universal Time.Media Contact
Captain Anthony Vega
(909) 820-2526
avega@rialtopd.com