On Sunday 10/18/2020 at approximately 9:25 PM Fresno police officers were dispatched to the area of the 1300 block of Esther in central Fresno, for a report of an attempted carjacking. It was reported that a white male adult approached a black Mercedes Benz armed with a broom handle also indicating he had a pistol under his shirt, demanding the vehicle. The owner of the vehicle refused and drove off, later calling 9-1-1. After fleeing the scene, the suspect climbed on the roof of a residence. Hearing the commotion, the homeowner came out armed with a rifle and confronted the suspect as he was climbing down from the roof. The suspect fled over the fence and the homeowner went back inside the residence and placed the rifle on the kitchen table.
The suspect immerged back out into the street where he was confronted by a second neighbor and a physical altercation ensued. It was at this time; officers arrived and ordered both subjects to the ground. The good samaritan complied but, the suspect ran off into the backyard of the original homeowner and stole the rifle from the interior of the house.
Now armed with the rifle, the suspect reemerged from the residence and fired the rifle at a group of teenagers standing across the street on Esther. It was at this time an officer engaged the suspect with her department handgun. Witnesses told investigators, that the suspect had pointed the rifle at the officers. The suspect was not struck by this gunfire and ran northbound, still armed with the rifle. He approached a marked, unoccupied Fresno Police patrol vehicle, where he attempted to break out the driver’s door window with the stock from the rifle and was yelling “Give me the keys.” The suspect hit the window with such force it broke the stock of the rifle.
The suspect then fled northbound Esther and broke a window to a residence. The suspect pointed the rifle at an officer who ultimately was forced to fire his handgun wounding the suspect. The suspect fled north on Esther and made his way into a small sedan at the corner of Esther and Floradora. While inside this vehicle he damaged the dashboard and appeared to be trying to hotwire the car. He was also seen pointing the rifle at officers while in the vehicle. As the suspect exited the vehicle, he traveled in a northeasterly direction where officers began giving additional commands for the suspect to surrender and deployed two less lethal bean-bag rounds striking the suspect with no effect.
The suspect continued his persistent advance through the neighborhood confronting officers with the rifle. Repeatedly, officers made attempts to deescalate the situation while being faced with this aggressive armed suspect. The suspect was going yard to yard hiding behind vehicles and eventually made his way to the 900 block of north Pine. Officers were once again confronted by the armed male who was an obvious threat to officers and residents in this neighborhood. Several more commands to surrender were given before officers were forced to fire their department issued handguns at the suspect. The suspect fell to the ground at this location where a team of officers took the violent suspect into custody and rendered medical aid. He was immediately transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The suspect has this been identified as Gregory Putnik, 1/09/1988. Putnik had multiple warrants from across the United States and was listed as an armed and dangerous felon. He was also listed as a parolee at large out of Springfield, Illinois with a primary violation of assault on a police officer. The Fresno Police Department Homicide Unit, the City of Fresno Civil Liability Team, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office and the City of Fresno’s Office Independent Review are all investigating this case. Five officers and one sergeant have all been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
Thankfully, no officers or citizens were injured in this critical incident.
Media: If you need any additional information, please email
[email protected]
Sergeant Jeff La Blue
Fresno Police Department
Public Information Officer
Office of the Chief of Police
Hopefully they put out a good body cam of this. This piece of shit was white so no riots will be for him 😂