Officer-Involved Shooting in West Valley Area

August 6, 2014                                       NR14283ne

                                Updated:

The officer involved in the below incident has been identified as Police Officer I Joshue Towe, Serial No. 41425.   
 

July 28, 2014                                           NR14283jm

Van Nuys:  On Friday, July 25, 2014, around 3:30 a.m., West Valley Area uniformed patrol officers responded to a “Vandalism Suspect There Now” radio call in the area of the 6700 block of Hayvenhurst Avenue.    
 
When the officers arrived they saw the suspect (later identified as Luis Ramirez) standing in the front yard of a residence holding 2 sticks and screaming.  The officers contacted Ramirez , who immediately began throwing rocks at the officers.   One officer ordered Ramirez to drop the sticks and raise his hands.  Ramirez refused to follow orders, so the officer activated their TASER.  A second officer who was armed with a beanbag shotgun observed Ramirez advance toward the first officer at which time the officer shot Ramirez with beanbag shotgun to stop his advance.  A third officer observed Ramirez lunging at the first officer at which time the officer involved shooting occurred.   

Ramirez was struck by gunfire and died at scene.
 
There were no injuries to the involved officers.

The Los Angeles Police Department Force Investigation Division (FID) responded to the incident and will be handling this investigation of the officer involved shooting.

The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, Office of the Inspector General and the Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Department’s Use-Of-Force policy which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.  Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review of the facts of the officer-involved shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call Force Investigation Division at 213-486-5230. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).  Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.