Man Killed in Police Shooting Identified

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office has identified the man shot and killed Sunday night in a confrontation with city police as 46-year-old Brian Phillip Tacadena of Santa Barbara. SBPD spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood said no personal information on Tacadena is currently being released as the department conducts an investigation into the shooting. Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover had a similar response, explaining the coroner’s findings and Tacadena’s background are being kept confidential at this stage of the inquiry.

According to witnesses, an officer confronted Tacadena — reportedly armed with a six-inch knife — near the corner of Victoria and De La Vina streets at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Despite multiple directives to stop where he was and drop the knife, Tacadena advanced on the officer who fired four or five shots at him, witnesses said. It’s not clear how many times he was hit, but Tacadena was declared dead at the scene. Investigators remained at the site for the rest of the night and into the morning when Tacadena’s body was transported by coroner’s office personnel.