Neighbors say it all began around 4:00 a.m. Sunday on the 5800 block of Mascher Street.
"I think the whole neighborhood heard a noise; he was just running up and down the street," neighbor Danford Brown said.
Police say a neighbor flagged down a patrol car to report a naked man ranting and raving in the street.
They say the officer confronted 31-year-old Kenyado Newsuan and tried to calm him down.
But the police and witnesses say Newsuan struggled with the officer.
The officer fired a taser at Newsuan, but it had no effect.
Then, police say, Newsuan tried to grab the officer's gun.
The officer got control and fired four shots, hitting Newsuan three times.
It all unfolded in front of Christina LaTorre, Newsuan's girlfriend.
"He shot him one time and he was down; there was no reason for [the officer] to shoot him any more times," a tearful LaTorre said.
LaTorre says Newsuan was high on PCP, an illegal street drug known to cause psychosis.
His family says that's no reason to shoot someone.
"He was on drugs. He took the drugs and he went a little berserk. He took off his clothes, he ran down the street. So that's right to kill somebody?" Newsuan's aunt Debria Jones said.
Witnesses say it appeared the officer was out of options.
"The cops were trying to calm him down, that didn't work. [The taser] did nothing. He kept on coming. When you're on that stuff, tasers don't do nothing. The only thing that'll slow you down is a bullet," neighbor Lucius Walker said.
Newsuan has a previous record of assaulting a police officer and two robbery convictions.
The officer involved in the shooting was treated for cuts and bruises and will be placed on administrative duty while the police and district attorney investigate.
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