Video shows Watsonville police shoot at murder suspect outside of station

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0:00 - Intro and 911 call
1:07 - Bodycam 1
1:19 - Surveillance video
1:37 - Dashcam video
2:47 - Bodycam video
4:06 - Ending
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Watsonville police have released body camera footage of an officer shooting a man armed with a knife who was charging at the officer.

On Aug. 3, Joshua Gonzalez drove into the parking lot of the Watsonville Police Station. Armed with a knife, Gonzalez contacted the dispatch center at 9:19 p.m. and threatened to harm his 3-year-old stepdaughter.

The first officer to arrive at the scene repeatedly directed Gonzalez to drop his weapon. Police say it was then that Gonzalez charged at the officer, who opened fire. The officer fired five shots.

The video released by Watsonville police shows Gonzalez speaking with dispatch, saying, "Oh yes, I have a child right here. I'm in the parking lot of the police station. She's in danger. I have a knife."

You then hear what sounds like a child in the background.

The dispatcher asks, "Why is she in danger?"

Bodycam video from the first responding officer shows the officer ordering Gonzalez to drop the knife. Gonzalez is seen charging at the officer, and five shots are heard being fired by the officer before the suspect falls to the ground.

Gonzalez is then detained before being taken to a hospital for his injuries.

The toddler was unharmed and put in the care of other family members.

"We know that the child is with her family, which is great," said Watsonville Police Department's Assistant Police Chief David Rodriguez.

Gonzalez's partner, Lizbeth Arceo Sedano, 25, was reported missing the same night. Her body was located on Eureka Canyon Road and Grizzly Flat Road at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday.

"We're extremely happy that our officer was unharmed, also happy that the child was unharmed, and we're fortunate that the suspect survived so that he can be held accountable for his actions on that night," Rodriguez said. "And lastly, like I said before, Lizbeth should be at the forefront of all this. She was a community member who lost her life."

Her cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds to the torso, per the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office.

Once Gonzalez was released from the hospital, he was arrested and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail by the Watsonville Police Department for the attempted murder of an officer, assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, child endangerment and trying to prevent an executive officer from performing duty.

Gonzalez is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 28, 2024.