The mother of a man shot and killed by the Madera Police Department said her son was mentally ill.
Madera Police shot and killed Sergio Valdavinos Friday evening. Police say Valdavinos swung a large wooden pole at officers at least three times, and had a machete.
Police said they’ve had run-ins with Valdavinos in the past. His mom said she wanted to get him help for what she calls, his mental illness.
“I talked to the police department,” said mother Dora Martinez. Martinez said she asked what the department could do for her son and someone from the department said, “I don’t know, we don’t know what we can do for him.”
This is the second police shooting in Madera in the last two weeks.
