Police said the subject refused to comply and instead produced what was later found to be a fake Beretta 92F handgun. Abarca fired his gun, striking the subject.
Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and took the subject to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.
After the shooting, Abarca and rescue personnel were stunned to learn that the wounded male was, in fact, just 13. The other two subjects, 13 and 14, were detained without incident after dropping their fake handguns. Three faux weapons were recovered.
Detectives from the LAPD's force investigation division responded to the scene. Police said they had determined that the subjects had been playing in the dark street, shooting pellets at one another with the fake handguns. They said they anticipated that no criminal charges would be filed against any of the three juveniles.
"This is a tragedy for all involved, but in particular for the young man injured in this police shooting and for the officer who believed that he was protecting himself and his partner from a real threat," said Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
"The pellet gun the juvenile was using is the exact dimensions of a Beretta 92F and is indistinguishable from a real handgun on a dark night," Beck said. "We have seen far too much heartbreak involving these types of realistic-looking guns that are labeled as toys."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/officer-involved-shooting-teenager-.html#more
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's a notice that went out on community e-groups announcing a meeting that was immediately held to inform the neighbors as to what had transpired during the incident described above. Its an example of how LAPD has learned to respond quickly to issues that are sensitive and likely to raise questions in the community.
LAPD, Officer Involved Shooting - Community Meeting 12/17
Posted Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:20 am (PST)
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2010 6:30PM
NOE LAPD COMMUNITY MEETING
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On Thursday December 16, 2010 around 8:00pm, Northeast LAPD Officers were
involved in an officer involved shooting (OIS) that took place near the
vicinity of Avenue 31 and Verdugo Road which resulted in a juvenile being shot
and injured.
To address the concerns of residents, NOE LAPD Captain Dave Lindsay, Council
President Eric Garcetti's Office, and other agencies will be convening a meeting
tonight at the Glassell Park Community/Senior Center (GPC/SC) located at 3750 N.
Verdugo Rd.(in back of the Public Storage) in the Community of Glassell Park
from 6:30pm to meet the LAPD, provide a quick overview of the incident, and
entertain questions from the community about the ongoing developments regarding
the incident.
Please contact Northeast Community Relations Office at (213) 485-2548 for more
information.
We hope to see you there.
Edie Reuveni
NOE CPAB Co-Chair
Bradley,
NOE CPAB Asst. Co-Chair
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's a report from a local newspaper that describes the meeting in the announcement above:
 LAPD officer Sergeant Danny Roman shows a picture of the gun to community members |
|
Community Questions if LAPD Officer Jumped the Gun
The shooting of a teenager in Glassell Park prompts an emergency community meeting headed by top officials.
by Kristi Kellogg
Eagle Rock Patch
December 18, 2010
Two nights ago on Dec. 16, in Glassell Park, shots from an LAPD officer wounded a young boy. At present, little information has been released.
The LAPD will make more details publicly available in the next few days, Commander John Sherman said in a special City Human Relations Commission town hall meeting held at the Glassell Senior Citizen Center at 6:30 p.m. last night.
Because the investigation is ongoing and the incident involves a minor, Commander Sherman said he was limited by LAPD protocal about what he could share with the community.
He did provide these details: |
On the night of Dec. 16, at about 8 p.m., two LAPD officers were driving down Verdugo Road, near Avenue 31, when they saw three boys with what appeared to be guns running in the street.
The officers stopped to investigate, at which point two of the boys ran in one direction while the third fled in the other. The officers commanded the individuals to stop, and the first two complied.
The third individual, however, "produced a replica handgun and was shot." Detectives later discovered all three of the boys were shooting pistols in and around Verdugo Road.
Sherman explained that the officers later discovered the guns involved were air pistols, which typically fire soft plastic pellets that do not travel at velocities fast enough to cause injury or damage property.
The wounded individual was a 13-year-old Hispanic male, who was 5 feet 7 and weighed 200 pounds. Emergency personnel were rushed to the scene, and the boy is currently receiving medical treatment in a local hospital.
The extent of his injuries has not been disclosed, nor has the name of the boy or the officer who fired. Sherman went on to say that no charges will be brought against any of the boys and that this incident was not in any way gang-related. The Police Commission has already begun an investigation into the "appropriateness of the officer's action," as stated by Inspector General Nicole Bershon, Sherman said.
close up of the Beretta 92F replica airgun |
|
Sherman said the officer is "very, very disturbed because he did not know [the boy's weapon] was a replica handgun" and that this was "clearly an extreme tragedy for everyone involved."
Present at the meeting was the acting general of the Mexican Consulate, Juan Carlos Mendoza, whose presence suggests that the boy's family is from that country.
Mendoza, looking extremely stern, reminded the people that "this is a country of laws" and reiterated the message all officials had urged throughout the evening: to "stay calm."
Mendoza also emphasized the importance of not exacting any sort of revenge. The consulate will be providing the family all manner of support at this time, from legal to economic support, and are looking for the Police Commission's inspection to reveal "exactly what happened and then take action accordingly." |
After officials spoke, Human Relations Policy Analyst Francisco Ortega opened the floor to questions. Most of the questions, however, probed issues that could not be discussed at the time, as they would compromise the investigation.
During the two-hour forum, tensions ran high. Indeed, the evening was wrought with emotion, as mothers in the audience delivered such rapid-fire Spanish that the translator couldn't always keep up. Citizens did everything from badger the police and cite officer brutality to turn on the parenting of one another. Mostly, the incensed crowds verbally attacked the police.
But one audience member placed the larger blame on a different entity—neighborhood parents. In the evening's final comment, an elderly woman passionately rebuked the crowd.
| "Get with your kids," she said. "Stick with your kids. Educate your kids. You know better. I know better. My daddy knew better and my mama knew better when I wasn't doing the right thing. If your kids are out late, they're gonna get hurt. I live in this neighborhood, and I hear it all night long with the gunfire, with the parties, with the drunken brawls, with the burglaries. I work with the police and I am not going to take this sitting down. It is all of us watching our kids. It's not the police's responsiblity to raise our kids. It's your responsbility." |
At this, the room burst into applause.
Further information will be released as early as today as the investigation continues.
http://eaglerock. patch.com/ articles/ community- questions- if-lapd-officer- jumped-the- gun?ncid= M255
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's what LAPD Chief of Police Charlie Beck thinks about the incident:
LAPD shooting of 13-year-old with pellet gun is a 'tragedy,' Chief Beck says
by
Martha Groves
Los Angeles Times
December 18, 2010
The shooting of a 13-year-old Glassell Park boy carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun by a Los Angeles Police Department officer is a "tragedy," Chief Charlie Beck said.
"This is a tragedy for all involved, but in particular for the young man injured in this police shooting and for the officer who believed that he was protecting himself and his partner from a real threat," Beck said in a statement. "The pellet gun the juvenile was using is the exact dimensions of a Beretta 92F and is indistinguishable from a real handgun on a dark night."
The chief added: "We have seen far too much heartbreak involving these types of realistic-looking guns that are labeled as toys."
The incident occurred about 7:50 p.m. Thursday when two LAPD officers on routine patrol in the 3000 block of North Verdugo Road saw three pedestrians in the middle of the street and stopped to investigate. The three people ran, with one ending up behind a van.
The officers got out of their patrol car, and one of them, Officer Victor Abarca, shined a flashlight on the person behind the van and ordered him to surrender. Based on the person's 5-foot-7, 200-pound frame, Abarca assumed that he was a young adult male.
Police said the boy refused to comply and instead produced what was later found to be a fake Beretta 92F handgun. Abarca fired his gun, striking the boy.
Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and took the boy to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.
After the shooting, Abarca and rescue personnel were stunned to learn that the wounded male was, in fact, just 13. The other two youths, ages 13 and 14, were detained without incident after dropping their fake handguns. Three faux weapons were recovered.
Detectives from the LAPD's force investigation division responded to the scene. Police said they had determined that the subjects had been playing in the dark street, shooting pellets at one another with the fake handguns. They said they anticipated that no criminal charges would be filed against any of the three juveniles.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/ |
