Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
More than 650 on-duty officers in L.A. shot at civilians from 2010 to 2014, according to KPCC's investigation into officer involved shootings. Ninety-seven of the people they shot were unarmed. Even among those armed with some kind of weapon, the circumstances in some cases raise questions.
Yet, prosecutors haven't brought charges against any officer in those shootings. In fact, the last prosecution of an on-duty officer was about 15 years ago.
Take Two's Dorian Merina takes a close look at that case through court documents and interviews with the two men at the center of the June 14, 2000 incident: former LAPD officer Ronald Orosco, and the man who survived the shooting, Charles Beatty.
"It was very clear to us that an unarmed 66-year-old motorist was shot in the back for no good reason – and we determined that charges would be filed," Deputy District Attorney John Gilligan, one of the lead prosecutors in the case, told A Martínez.
Please click on the links above to hear the full story and accompanying interview with John Gilligan.