NEWPORT BEACH – David Lollis was enjoying an evening stroll with his golden labrador on Saturday in the quaint Newport Shores neighborhood he’s called home for decades.

Then he heard screams.

He saw his friend of 25 years standing on the sidewalk, in his underwear – brandishing a knife. His friend’s wife, with a fresh head injury, sobbed on a neighbor’s porch two doors down. A patrol car screeched to a halt.

Moments later, Lollis watched as a police officer fatally shot his pal.

An officer with the Newport Beach Police Department goes door-to-door in search of potential witnesses after an officer involved shooting left one man dead. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

Newport Beach police responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

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Newport Beach police responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

A Newport Beach police officer responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

Newport Beach police investigate after responding to a domestic violence call Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)



Newport Beach police responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

A truck can be seen parked in front of the Newport Beach house where a deadly police shooting occurred after officers responded to a reported domestic violence incident. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

Newport Beach police responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

Newport Beach police responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a man armed with a knife Saturday night, NBPD said Sunday morning. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)

A truck can be seen parked in front of the Newport Beach house where a deadly police shooting occurred after officers responded to a reported domestic violence incident. (Photo by Miles T. Madison, Contributing Photographer)



“It was horrible, having to witness your friend get killed from 10 feet away,” Lollis said. “But the officer was totally justified.”

Lollis’ eyewitness description aligns with police accounts of a domestic violence call turned tragic: Police received the call at 9:11 p.m. and responded to the 200 block of 61st Street, where the man was brandishing a knife, said Jennifer Manzella of the Newport Beach Police Department.

The man initially complied with orders to drop the knife, both Manzella and Lollis said.

“He laid down spread eagle and didn’t move,” Lollis said, standing in the same corner of the park where he first heard the screams. “You couldn’t even see him breathing.”

Then, Lollis said, the man lifted his head — with a frightening look.

“He looked like, ‘Here’s Johnny,’ ” Lollis said, referencing the famous line from the film “The Shining.” “That wasn’t him.”

The officer told the man not to move.

Instead, Lollis said, his friend muttered, “If you’re (expletive) gonna take me, then take me.” The man jumped up, grabbed the knife and raised his arm as if to throw it at the officer, Lollis said.

“Fearing for his safety and the safety of others, the officer fired at the suspect,” Manzella said.

Lollis had one reaction: “All I could do was call his name.”

The man later died at the hospital.

(The Register is not identifying the man who was killed until his name is released by the coroner’s office.)

What preceded the shooting is unclear. Police are still investigating and Manzella said details will be scant until the case is closed.

But residents said they were shocked that a man many of them knew for years, and described as mellow and kind, could be at the center of a domestic violence dispute and police shooting. The tight-knit community has been upended, they said.

The neighborhood went dark at 9:02 p.m. Saturday because of a downed power line – an ominous presage, neighbors said Sunday.

Shortly after the outage, several neighbors said, they heard screams coming from the man’s house. The man then went outside; he was naked and holding the knife. At some point, he went back inside before eventually returning to the front of the house.

By then, Lollis was at the park with his dog. He too heard screaming: “Someone was yelling, ‘No … No … Come back inside,'” he said.

Lollis walked toward the house and saw the man run to the sidewalk – this time with underwear on. He still held the knife.

Minutes later, the police officer pulled up. And before he knew it, Lollis was watching his friend die.

“I’ve watched people die from cancer and at least you have time to prepare for it,” said Lollis. “You can’t prepare for something like this. You can’t prepare to watch your best friend get shot right in front of you.”

The man’s wife ended her night in the hospital, being treated for what Manzella described as non-life-threatening injuries. She could not be reached for comment Sunday.

For the neighborhood, a night-long denouement followed.

Geraldine Chapman, who has lived a few doors down from the man since 1992, said a helicopter overhead woke her up when a voice announced that residents should lock their doors. She later answered questions from a detective while still in her pajamas.

Lollis only got a couple of hours of sleep. After police interviewed him, so did the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating whether the shooting was justified.

The officer was removed from active duty, per department policy following a shooting.

On Sunday morning, residents of narrow 61st – with a row of quaint mid-century houses, and populated with many people who have lived there for decades – milled about outside, chatting about the shooting and trying to cope.

“It was shocking,” Chapman said. “He was a great guy. He and his wife were beautiful people.”

Lollis described the man as fun, a sports-lover, particularly racing, and a religious family man. No one in the neighborhood had ever seen the couple fight – and few could explain what might have incited the man.

“I never heard a cross word from him,” Lollis said. “This was a man I had dinner and wine with. I saw him nearly every day.”

The man was also a regular at Cappy’s Café, a nearly 60-year-old diner on Pacific Coast Highway known mainly for its breakfast, walking distance from his house.

“He was a good guy,” said Bob Phillips, the cafe’s manager. “Always nice, very cordial. He never gave us any issues.”

But on Saturday night, something snapped, Lollis said of his friend.

“He was out of his mind,” he added. “He was on a mission to hurt someone.”

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Rick Henry at 949-644-3797 or Sgt. Ryan Peters at 949-644-3764.