Suspect with a Knife Lunges at Officers NR12306

Los Angeles: On June 17, 2012, around 10:20 p.m., West Los Angeles patrol officers responded to a call of a ‘Man cutting himself with a knife” in the 1500 block of South Sherbourne Avenue.  When the officers arrived, they saw the suspect was armed with a knife and was slashing his own throat.  The officers deployed a taser and beanbag shotgun rounds as they attempted to stop him from injuring himself further.  The suspect lunged at the officers with a knife, at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred.  Police Officer II Eric Mitchell fired one round at the suspect, striking him in the torso.

Los Angeles Fire Department responded and transported the suspect to local hospital where he was listed in critical condition for the self-inflected lacerations to the throat and gunshot wound to the torso.  No officers were injured.  The suspect was later identified as 22 year-old Yusef Terry Bickhem.

Force Investigation Division (FID) personnel responded and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer involved shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

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 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 about this incident is urged 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.