Man Who Reportedly Left Wife Bloodied is Shot Dead by Newport Beach Policeman

UPDATE, APRIL 18, 5:13 P.M.: The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old David Airth, a Newport Beach real estate appraisal company owner.

ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 17, 10:09 A.M.: A man who neighbors say had left his wife bloodied was shot and killed by a Newport Beach police officer Saturday night.

The Newport Beach Police Department’s Dispatch Center received a call around 9:10 p.m. of a domestic violence incident involving a man with a knife in the 200 block of 61st Street, according to Jennifer Manzella, the agency’s spokeswoman.

An officer who arrived at the A-frame home on the city’s far west end confronted the man on the sidewalk and could see he still had a knife, Manzella says. 

After first complying with the officer’s demand to drop the weapon, “the suspect re-armed himself with the knife seconds later” and “exhibited threatening actions towards the officer,” say Manzella, who added, “Fearing for his safety and the safety of others, the officer fired at the suspect.”

Newport Beach Fire Department first responders treated the man and took him to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was listed in critical condition before succumbing to his injuries later that evening, Manzella says. 

His name and the identity of the officer have not yet been released to the media.

Neighbors on 61st Street told CBS2’s Adrianna Weingold that they saw the man acting out in a fit of rage, heard the unidentified woman cry for help and later observed her bleeding from the head.

These same residents also informed the reporter that the behavior was out of character for a normally pleasant, easy-going neighbor who had lived with his wife on their street for more than 20 years.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is asked to contact Newport Beach Police Detective Rick Henry at 949.644.3797 or Sgt. Ryan Peters at 949.644.3764.

As is routine, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will conduct a separate investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

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