Man Shot Twice By Police In Leimert Park Did Not Have Gun, LAPD Says, Correcting Its Initial Report

Police shot and wounded a man who officers said they believed was armed with a handgun in Leimert Park on Monday night. It later turned out he was holding a car part.

The man, 39-year-old Jermaine Petite, was shot two times and later taken to a hospital in serious condition.

Officers arrived at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bronson Avenue about 7:20 pm. after getting a report that someone had committed assault with a deadly weapon, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore.

“I'll not make a judgment on whether the officers were right or wrong,” Moore said, “or within our policy or not, until I have all the facts before me.”

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Moore told our newsroom’s public affairs show AirTalk (which airs on 89.3 FM) that he'd received reports that Petite pointed an object directly at officers and that officers believed it was a gun.

A piece of a six-inch black metal actuator, which is a car part, was recovered at the scene. Moore said there will be an investigation into whether the officer who shot Petite had reasonable cause.

Investigators will review evidence from the body cameras, digital in-car cameras and surveillance tapes.

The LAPD's website reports 37 police shootings so far this year. The department reported 67 in 2021.