The man shot and killed by a Santa Barbara police officer Sunday night has been identified as Brian Phillip Tacadena, 46, of Santa Barbara. 

His name was released by the Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Office on Tuesday afternoon, but Santa Barbara police weren’t releasing much more information about the officer-involved shooting.

Police Sgt. Riley Harwood would not elaborate on how the police officer initially approached Tacadena – on patrol or in response to a 9-1-1 call – but said the officer saw the man standing in the area from his patrol car and decided to contact him.

Officers can stop and detain someone if they have reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime, Harwood said.

The police report from this incident hasn’t been included in the media stack of reports on file at the police station, and the log of incidents from Sunday is conspicuously missing from the pile.

Noozhawk has a public information request pending for the police incident report and video from the patrol car’s dashboard camera system.

The City Attorney makes the ultimate decision whether the information requested fits within the California Public Records Act, Harwood said.

Police have said that a male officer attempted to conduct a “pedestrian contact” of a suspect who was walking near Victoria and De la Vina streets at 11:28 p.m. Sunday. The suspect had a “large fixed blade knife” and “advanced on the officer while brandishing the knife,” Lt. Todd Stoney said Monday.

The man failed to comply with orders to stop and drop the weapon and the officer shot and killed him, Stoney said.

Many neighbors heard parts of the incident Sunday around 11:30 p.m., particularly the gunshots.

Witnesses recall about five shots fired, but police haven’t released any details. 

Unlike other law enforcement agencies, the Santa Barbara Police Department investigates its own officer-involved shootings.

All investigations are reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office, which makes a finding whether the shooting was justified.

The department’s Internal Affairs unit is investigating whether department procedures were followed, and the Crimes Against Persons unit is investigating the shooting itself, Harwood said.

Police policy is to “respond in kind with lethal force” when an officer is faced with a lethal threat, such as a knife or gun that could cause great bodily injury or death.

If an officer is faced with nonlethal force – hand and feet, for example – the officer typically responds with nonlethal force such as a Taser, pepper spray, baton (all officers carry these at all times) or their own hands and feet.

Some officers carry shotguns with bean bag rounds in their patrol cars, but most don’t, Harwood added.

The officer is being looked after and “doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” Harwood said.

The male officer has still not been identified by authorities.

“If we didn’t have a reason not to divulge it, then we would,” he said.

Harwood also couldn’t comment on the officer’s duty status, but said it is common practice to put an officer on administrative leave during an investigation.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.