Police shoot local man

Andrew Edwards

Police shot and wounded a Surf City man Tuesday after he reportedly

threw a hammer at officers and refused to comply with a restraining

order.

John Underhill, 43, is under house arrest at UC Irvine Medical

Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and violation of

a court order, police said.

Underhill’s wife, Christine Roy, called police at about 1 p.m.

Tuesday when he showed up at her Rochester Avenue apartment --

violating a restraining order -- brandishing a hammer, Capt. Dan

Johnson said. Roy left her apartment and called police from a nearby

liquor store, where she warned police that Underhill would fight with

them when they arrived.

“She did the right thing, she left,” Johnson said. “He was waving

that hammer around and she left.”

Five police officers went to the apartment, where Underhill was

standing by the garage, Johnson said. When he saw police arrive he

ran into the apartment. Police dispatchers called the apartment, but

Underhill refused to answer. He eventually came outside, carrying the

hammer.

Police shot less-lethal pepper balls at Underhill, who went back

inside the apartment. He emerged again waving the hammer and

threatening the officers, Johnson said. Underhill then threw the

hammer at police, and an officer fired, striking Underhill in the

body.

Neighbor Kait Hylton, watched the event begin to unfold from her

balcony across the street.

“I heard [Underhill] yell something just almost in a hysterical

frenzy, just a rage, then I heard the muffled [less-lethal] shots

again, then I heard gunshots,” Hylton said.

Underhill and Roy had a troubled relationship, and neighbors often

heard the pair shouting at each other from their apartment.

“It’s escalated, it’s definitely been escalating,” neighbor Joan

Santola said. “We were all concerned that he’d finally killed her.”

Roy was unhurt, and no police officers were injured, Johnson said.

The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on leave,

as a matter of routine. The shooting is being investigated by the

Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which investigates all police

shootings in the county.

The last time Huntington Beach police were involved in a shooting

was July, when officers shot and killed Huntington Beach resident

Steve Hills, who reportedly aimed a replica handgun at police after

calling 911 and threatening to kill a police officer or commit

suicide.