LOS ANGELES—A man was killed by Los Angeles Police Department officers who responded to a vandalism call on April 13.
According to an LAPD news release, officers responded to a 99 Cents store on the 5200 block of Sunset Boulevard around 3:40 p.m. As the officers arrived, they found a man with a knife outside of the grocery store. It was then that the suspect confronted officers, who opened fire on the man. LAFD personnel responded after the incident and pronounced the suspect dead at the scene. A knife was recovered at the scene following the shooting.
KTLA reported that they had obtained video which depicted the man lying face down on the floor, though it was not known if that was before or after the shooting. A witness told KTLA that the man was struck in the arm by an officer with a baton while he was on the sidewalk. Another witness told CBSLA that the unidentified suspect was a homeless man.
The investigation will be handled by the department’s Force Investigation Division. The shooting will also be reviewed by the Chief of Police, Charlie Beck, the Office of the Inspector General and the Board of Police Commissioners in addition to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office “for compliance with the Department’s use-of-force policy which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.” The name of the suspect has not yet been disclosed to the public.
Witnesses to the shooting are asked to come forward by contacting the Force Investigation Division at 213-486-5230. Calls can also be placed to the non-business hours line at 877-527-3247, while anonymous tips may be left at 800-222-8477.