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Police Kill the Wrong Man During Pursuit of Armed Robbers
Photo by carl ballou via Shutterstock
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The man that Downey police shot and killed last night probably wasn't the armed robbers they were looking for, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department which is investigating the shooting.
Police said they were responding to the report that there was an armed robber on the loose in Downey, according to NBC Los Angeles.They came across Michael Nida, 31, who had just gone out for some cigarettes, according to his sister. But police say that Nida matched the description of the robber. They confronted Nida near Imperial Highway and Paramount Boulevard but he evaded capture twice.
The police opened fire on him around 7:30 pm last night. A statement from the sheriff's department which is investigating the case said "the suspect turned toward the pursuing Downey officers in an aggressive manner. Fearing the suspect was armed, an officer fired at the suspect, striking him.
Nida was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. He leaves behind four children. Why would an innocent man run from police? Nida's sister said he might have thought he was being pursued for jaywalking.
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"My brother and his wife were getting gas. He went across the street to get some cigarettes," Terri Teramura said. "He jaywalked, I guess. And the police saw him. Confronted him. I don't know what happened, but they shot him ... in the back. Five times. Killed him."
This is the second time that Downey police officers have killed someone this month, according to Downey Beat. Police killed a man on October 12 after they said he ran at them with a stick and pocket knife.
As for the two suspects in the armed robbery — police still haven't found them.
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