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UPDATED: Women wounded by LAPD officers out of hospital and other updates in cases of mistaken identity in LAPD manhunt
Law enforcement members look over the scene of an officer involved shooting in Torrance, Calif. Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Thousands of police officers throughout Southern California and Nevada hunted for a former Los Angeles officer, Christopher Dorner, who was angry over his firing and began a deadly shooting rampage that he warned in an online posting would target those on the force who wronged him, authorities said.
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UPDATED: Women wounded by LAPD officers out of hospital and other updates in cases of mistaken identity in LAPD manhunt
Update 3:12 p.m. Women wounded by LAPD officers released from hosital
The two women shot and wounded early Thursday by LAPD officers on a protection detail in Torrance are out of the hospital, according to their attorney.
Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering newspapers when officers fired as many as 50 bullets at their truck. The officers had been assigned to protect a high-ranking LAPD official who'd been named in the “manifesto” posted online by murder suspect Christopher Dorner.
Attorney Glen Jonas, who represents the women, said they tried to cover their heads when the shooting began. He said they prayed they would survive.
Hernandez was struck in the back by two shots.
“Although she’s making a good recovery now, obviously that could change so we need to have a fix and handle on what the future holds for her, medically,” said Jonas.
Jonas said after firing, the officers realized they’d made a big mistake, and were in “a state of confusion.”
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He said the women’s pickup didn’t look like murder suspect Dorner’s vehicle. Police reports said Dorner was driving a gray Nissan Titan pickup truck. The women were in a blue Toyota Tacoma truck.
“Nothing matched,” said Jonas. “To be so quick to use deadly force and extreme deadly force and place them in danger, there’s no excuse for what happened.”
The LAPD has launched an investigation into the shooting. That process may take months to complete.
Jonas said he is in touch with the investigation team, and once their work is finished, his clients will decide whether to take legal action against the LAPD.
Police Chief Charlie Beck has spoken with both women, said Jonas.
“Chief Beck gave what I thought was a heartfelt apology and he was sincere on behalf of the LAPD, “ said Jonas. “It was well received by the women and I think that’s a first step.”
PREVIOUSLY:
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The lawyers for a man whose truck was fired on by Torrance police in a case of mistaken identity have sent a letter to the city's police chief, asking for patrol car videos and radio transmissions recorded before the shooting.
Torrance police officers rammed the truck driven by David Perdue and fired at it early Thursday, just minutes after LAPD officers sent to protect a high-ranking police official fired by mistake at another truck nearby.
Police have said Perdue's pickup truck matched the description of the one belonging to murder suspect Christopher Dorner. The former LAPD officer is the subject of massive search after allegedly shooting three people to death.
But Perdue's pickup is not the same color or make as Dorner's.
Attorney Robert Sheahen, one of three lawyers representing Perdue, says his client looks nothing like Dorner.
“After they realized that [Perdue] was a white man and not a 270-pound black man, they pulled him out of the car and held him face down with guns pointed at his head on the sidewalk in his neighborhood,” Sheahen said.
Sheahen said Perdue is suffering from injuries suffered when a Torrance police cruiser slammed into his pickup before officers opened fire. He said Perdue was not shot, but received a concussion and injuries to his arm and shoulder.
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The injuries will keep Perdue from returning to his job as a baggage handler at Los Angeles International Airport any time soon, said Sheahen.
Sheahen said Perdue was on his way to surf when Torrance police officers flagged him down, questioned him and directed him to drive on. Shorly after, other Torrance cops called to the scene rammed Pedue's truck and opened fire.
“Thankfully they missed him," Sheahen said. "I don’t want to say anything about their marksmanship, but they missed him as they were trying to kill him.”
Perdue's attorneys say if the Torrance officials don't respond to their letter quickly, they will file a claim with the city. If authorities don’t respond favorably to the claim, the attorneys say they'll file a lawsuit.
In a statement issued on the day of the shooting incident, Torrance police officials said a departmental investigation is underway. A spokesman said the Torrance Police Department may issue another statement early this week.
See both the attorneys' letter and the police statement below:
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