Oakland police shoot Corey Pollard

An Oakland police officer shot a man they claim was armed with a knife Friday, department officials said.

The shooting happened on the 1000 block of 88th Avenue about 9:45 a.m. Two officers in a marked cruiser — one a rookie officer, the other that officer’s field training officer — were on patrol when they were flagged down by a witness reporting a man who was armed with a knife and “acting erratically,” said Officer Frank Bonifacio, an Oakland police spokesman.

The officers found the man, and “a confrontation ensued” that resulted in one of the officers opening fire, Bonifacio said. Officials did not say if it was the rookie or the training officer who shot the man.

The man, identified by relatives as Corey Pollard, 28, was hit by gunfire and taken to a hospital for treatment, but his condition was not immediately known. Family members told reporters at the scene that Pollard had a history of mental illness. They also said he was shot several times.