Armed Suspects Surrender to Officers

Los Angeles:  Two armed men surrendered to Los Angeles police officers last night, May 14, 2006, after two officers confronted them running from a crowd in the 4500 block of Van Ness Avenue.

It began just before 10 PM, when a complaint went over the police radio of a group of men disturbing the peace.  Police Officer LaSalle Culpepper and his partner drove toward the vicinity of the disturbance.  They were in uniform, but driving an unmarked police car.  Both officers are assigned to the Metropolitan Division of the LAPD.

As the crowd dispersed, the officers’ attention was drawn to two men running from the crowd, down a private driveway.  Culpepper and his partner followed them on foot and noticed they were armed.  An officer-involved shooting occurred when Culpepper fired one shot at Bobby Norman, which missed.  Norman, 20, stopped running, threw his gun and surrendered.

Norman’s 29-year-old companion, Stacie Campbell, continued running.  A police dog later located him under a nearby house.

Detectives found two guns in the vicinity of the arrests, a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun.  Tests will be done to determine if the guns belonged to either man.

Detectives from the Force Investigation Division will conduct the shooting investigation.  Norman and Campbell were booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.  Campbell was treated for a minor injury, received from the police dog during the search.

Officer Culpepper is a 10-year veteran of LAPD.  He is 37-years-old.