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May 18, 2008
Long Beach Police Kill 'Erratic' Man, Provoke Angry Crowd
The Long Beach Police Department and the LA County District Attorney's Office are investigating an officer-involved shooting that killed a 46-year-old Samoan man around 7 p.m. Saturday night in a residential neighborhood of Long Beach.
Police responded to multiple calls regarding a man behaving "violently and erratic" in the 3400 block of East 67th Street, according to the police report:
The officers, in an attempt to gain control of the suspect, utilized their batons, which were ineffective. During the ongoing physical confrontation, the officers feared for their lives. To protect himself and the life of his partner, one of the officers fired his weapon at the suspect. The suspect was struck multiple times in the torso and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased a short time later.A crowd of about 40 people gathered at the scene in protest, according to the LA Times:
After the shooting, the officers were confronted by dozens of people who were yelling and screaming at them, she said. Fearing the crowd would turn on them, the officers called for backup from Long Beach police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the crowd, apparently residents of the neighborhood, left.
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Multiple times? What is that? Twice? Four times? Twelve times? Not that that matters...
If the man was carrying a gun or a weapon then yeah you gotta put him down. But they were wrestling with him with their batons and then went to the sidearm when they found they couldnt handle him. If they are trying to subdue him, then ONCE, in the leg or kneecap or something. It says he was Samoan so Im guessing he wasnt a small dude. But really, multiple shots? Now he is dead and the police have another mess on their hands.
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Cops don't shoot to wound. They shoot to kill. That includes 13 year old boys and 55 year old women.
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No doubt...
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I can't think of a time when it's justifiable to shoot an unarmed man. If two cops can't hold him down, call in two more. If four can't handle him, keep calling in backup until you can get the guy under control.
It sounds like they got backup there in a hurry when there were 40 angry people on the scene in their face - where was this backup when the guy was still alive?
Admittedly, I don't know the details, but this sounds to me like another instance when the police do not treat lethal force as a last resort.
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"violently and erratic"
"The officers, in an attempt to gain control of the suspect, utilized their batons, which were ineffective. During the ongoing physical confrontation, the officers feared for their lives."
Not knowing the details but it sounds to me like they didn't have time to step back and call for backup. Shooting people in the limbs while moving violently is stuff of movies. Even the best marksmen would have trouble with that. Again I don't know how many times he was shot but not everyone stops after 1 or 2 shots. If violent that person could still be a threat.
I'll hold judgment until after the investigation.