Three LAPD officers who fired the shots that killed Brian Beaird, the Corvette driver who led police on a chase last Friday, were temporarily put on leave while the shooting is investigated.LAPD Chief Charlie Beck revealed this information during an interview with KPCC's Larry Mantle, saying that the action is fairly normal for situations such as this, as investigators interview the officers involved and "get into the minds" of the officers that fired the fatal shots.
Brian Beaird, an ex-National Guard recruiter from Oceanside who had a history of mental issues, was shot and killed by police after he weaved his way through southeastern L.A. neighborhoods before crashing into another car on Friday night. The unarmed Beaird was shot by police as he stumbled out of the vehicle.
"It's impossible for me to tell you at this point exactly why the officers fired, but that is what we will determine in the investigation," Beck told Mantle.
Beck said that "about 15-20" rounds were fired at Beaird. He claimed that it was too early to determine if a beanbag round was mistaken by officers as shots fired by Beaird, although he did mention that it may turn out to be the case. Beck stressed that if there was any breaking of protocol by the officers, then appropriate action will be taken.
"If there's officer behavior that needs to be modified whether through discipline or training that's what we'll do." Beck said.
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