Update 5 p.m.:
More details have come to light Thursday afternoon in a deadly officer-involved shooting that stemmed from a pursuit in Hemet.
Sheriff's officials tell Banning-Beaumont Patch that investigation has revealed the man killed following the Wednesday afternoon chase was armed with a handgun.
"At the termination [of the chase] the suspect reached for and removed an object that the officers believed was a weapon and an officer involved shooting occurred," Riverside County Sheriff's Department Spokesman Deputy Albert Martinez said. "We later discovered the item was in fact a handgun."
What's more, according to the deputy, the officers who initially tried to pull 30-year-old William McCullough over prior to the chase's start were in vehicles that were easy to recognize as police units, even though they weren't painted black and white.
"It was one unmarked, full complete police vehicle, and [the officers] were in fully marked gang task force attire," Martinez told Patch. "Behind that vehicle, when Hemet police officers joined in, they were in black and white vehicles."
Martinez described the vehicle as a Crown Victoria, with police lights on the roof, and a siren.
As for the number of shots fired in the incident, Martinez says that is still being investigated and will be revealed at a later time.
"There were multiple officers that shot from both agencies," he added.
Original story posted June 27, 2013 at 03:58 pm:
A 30-year-old Hemet resident was identified Thursday as the man who was fatally shot by law enforcement officers a day earlier, according to coroner's reports.
The Riverside County Coroner's Office identified William McCullough as the man who died following a brief pursuit in Hemet Wednesday around 3:15 p.m.
As of Thursday, details surrounding the incident were still limited, as police had yet to say if the man was armed or had threatened officers in an obvious manner.
What is known, though, is that it all started when members from the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force tried to pull McCullough over for a traffic violation and he tried to flee, according to Riverside County Sheriff's Spokesman Albert Martinez.
"The vehicle sped away and a pursuit was initiated," Martinez said.
The ensuing chase lasted about four minutes, and went through parts of Hemet and unincorporated areas nearby, according to the deputy.
"The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle stopped in the 40300 block of Mayberry Avenue and exited," according to Martinez. "At this time an officer involved shooting occurred."
"The involved officers were uninjured and per department policy have been placed on paid administrative leave," Martinez added.
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