Shooting Occurs When Officers Encounter a Suspect

Los Angeles: An investigation by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Rampart Division Patrol Officer II Frank Hernandez (11 years, eight months with the Department) and Patrol Officer I John Gallagher (one year, six months with the Department) resulted in an officer involved shooting (OIS) when a man suddenly pointed a handgun at them.

The incident occurred on Dec. 12, 2008 at about 9:30 a.m. as Officers Hernandez and Gallagher assisted with containment of a perimeter resulting from an assault with a deadly weapon (ADW) on an officer near Kellam Avenue and East Edgeware Road. At that time, the officers observed two possible assault suspects, one of whom was later identified as 18-year-old Joseph Wolf, standing in front of a residence in the 1300 block of Kellam Avenue.

When officers approached Wolf and the other suspect, both initially tried to run away. Then Wolf produced a handgun and pointed it directly at the officers, resulting in an OIS. After he was shot, Wolf immediately went inside a residence but later submitted to arrest without incident. He was transported to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center with a single gunshot wound and was listed in stable condition.

Wolf is not believed to be the suspect officers were seeking in the original ADW incident. However, a search warrant was served at the residence where Wolf briefly eluded capture, and two replica handguns were recovered from inside that location.

No officers were injured during the encounter, and LAPD Force Investigation Division detectives are responsible for the investigations related to the OIS and the crimes against the officers.