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Alcohol 'primary factor' in Off-Duty LAPD Gun Firing Incident in DTLA
Photo by Robert S. Donovan via Flickr
An LAPD officer fired their gun at around 2 o'clock yesterday morning in the vicinity of Weiland Brewery Restaurant in Downtown, and alcohol has been named as the "primary factor" in the incident, according to LA Now.Sources say the three off-duty officers were gathered on the street outside the brewpub restaurant, "when one of them pulled out a gun and fired at least one shot in the direction of a street lamp." No one was injured in the episode.
Preliminary investigation of the incident reveal that the officer "was impaired after a heavy night of drinking." The Los Angeles Police Protective League's President Paul M. Weber is concerned about the frequency with which alcohol is abused by officers in the Department, and had just recently published an article in the police union's newsletter on the issue.
The officers involved have not been identified. Other recent alcohol-related incidents in the past six months involving off-duty officers have claimed two lives. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck echoes Weber's sentiments in urging his officers to not turn to alcohol to cope with the stress of their job.
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