Officer Involved Shooting in West Valley NR14427an

November 19, 2014   
UPDATE

The officers involved in the incident below have been identified as Police Officer II Abdias Velasco, Serial No. 38776 and Police Officer I Cesar Gutierrez, Serial No. 41467.  Both are patrol officers assigned to West Valley Area.

West Valley: On November 9, 2014, around 2:45 p.m., officers from the West Valley division received a radio call of a man cutting himself with a knife in the area of Victory Boulevard and Haskell Avenue.

When the officers arrived at the location, they observed a male Hispanic matching the description of the radio call.  The man was holding a knife to his neck as he walked eastbound on Victory Boulevard toward the 405 freeway.

The officers approached the man on foot and the man continued to cut himself.  The officers pleaded with him to stop what he was doing and drop the knife, but he ignored the officers’ commands.  At some point the man became aggressive toward the officers and an officer involved shooting occurred.

The officers immediately requested paramedics for the man.  Los Angeles Fire Paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced the man dead at the scene.  No officers were injured during the incident.

Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved-shooting.

The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Departments 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.