Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS) in Southwest NR12565cj

January 9, 2013
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Update:  The officers involved in this incident have been identified as Police Officer III Jonathan Pultz and Police Officer III Joseph Goosby, both officers assigned to Metropolitan Division.

Los Angeles:  On December 11, 2012, around 7 p.m., LAPD Southwest Area officers responded to a domestic violence radio call in the 7100 block of Don Ricardo Drive. When the officers arrived, they were met outside of the location by a female victim.  She told officers she was battered by a man described as a 28-year-old African-American male inside the location.  When officers entered the house, the suspect barricaded himself in a room with two children, ages three and six. The suspect threatened to have a weapon.

Officers tried to talk him out of the room but were unsuccessful. S.W.A.T. was then called out to the scene.  After hours of negotiation with the suspect, officers made the decision to enter the location because they believed the children were in imminent danger.  They encountered the suspect who was armed with a knife and an OIS occurred.  LAFD Rescue personnel responded and pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.  The children are safe and currently with their mother.  The Crisis Response Team is also working with the family.  No officers were injured.

This is the second Los Angeles Police Department OIS involving suspects armed with a knife threatening other individuals in recent weeks.  On December 1, 2012, Van Nuys Area patrol officers responded to a radio call of an “Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Suspect with a Knife” at Saticoy Street & Tobias Avenue.  They encountered the suspect who was holding his girlfriend with a knife to her neck, and an OIS occurred.

As of December 12, 2012, OISs involving LAPD officers and suspects are down 38% when compared with the same date in 2011.

Both of the above listed shootings are under investigation by the Department’s Force Investigation Division (FID).  The investigations will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the 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.