Santa Monica officer stabbed by suspect armed with a knife after attack outside police headquarters

SANTA MONICA, CA- Authorities with the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) released bodycam footage showing the moments an officer was attacked and stabbed by a man armed with a pack of stolen knives.

According to Fox News, the attack happened back on October 5th around 5:21 p.m., when an officer was heading outside of the police headquarters building to talk to a woman about an unrelated call. The officer's body camera footage, which was released on Thursday, November 21st, shows three people outside of the building — the armed suspect, later identified as 28-year-old Deyaa Sbdelhadi Halaibeh, the woman, and another man.

Halaibeh approached the officer at the door and the officer can be heard telling him, "Let me talk to them first, and then we can talk." Halaibeh, who had one hand inside of his jacket, asked if the people were at the building before him, and the woman said that she was. He started talking, but the officer cut him off to ask what he was holding inside his jacket. The officer said, "What's in your jacket? I'm kind of nervous with your hand inside your jacket like that."

Halaibeh said, "You're nervous?" Right after saying that, he lunged at the officer with a knife. The officer was stabbed and slashed before he was able to retreat back inside of the building to arm himself with his gun. The officer fired off a few shots, causing the armed suspect to stumble and drop his knife. He was not yet deterred, as he picked the knife back up and began walking toward the officer again. The officer fired his duty weapon at him, fatally striking him. 

SMPD said that Halaibeh was pronounced dead outside of the building. The officer was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated for his injuries and later released. According to authorities, Halaibeh is a resident of New York and has no prior criminal history in California as well as no prior contact with Santa Monica Police. It is unclear what prompted him to come to the station and attack the officer.

Police said surveillance video shows Halaibeh stealing a pack of knives from a Target employee minutes before arriving at the police station. Halaibeh allegedly assaulted the employee during the theft. He then used an eight-inch knife from that stolen pack of knives to attack the police officer. 

SMPD said that California law gives them 45 days to release video and audio recordings of critical incidents and the department understands the importance of doing so when deadly force is involved. A statement from the department said, "The use of force by law enforcement personnel is a matter of critical concern, both to the public and to the law enforcement community. Every day, officers are involved in rapidly evolving interactions with members of the public, and when warranted, use reasonable force in carrying out their duties."

The statement added, "This is especially true with respect to officers safeguarding the community and themselves from attacks and overcoming resistance while engaged in the performance of law enforcement duties. Officers and their supervisors are responsible for understanding their authority and its limitations and appreciating the serious consequences of every use of force." According to ABC7, the officer-involved shooting incident is under investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.