Officer-Involved Shooting in Newton NR12493vh

October 26, 2012

Los Angeles: On October 12, 2012, around 8:30 p.m., Newton Patrol Officers were in the area of 41st Place and Woodlawn Avenue when they saw an individual, later identified as Kennedy Garcia, 23 years of age, spray painting gang graffiti on a wall.  As suspect Garcia was about to enter a waiting vehicle, officers detained him, as well as the other occupants in the vehicle. The officers instructed Garcia and the other occupants to face the wall and place their hands behind their backs.  As the officers were conducting pat down searches for weapons, Garcia, who had not been searched, suddenly ran away while holding his waistband.  One officer chased Garcia on foot.  Believing that Garcia was possibly armed with a gun the officer requested back-up for a 415 man with a gun.  As the officer was chasing Garcia his partner got into their police vehicle and drove parallel to his partner.  During this time the other detainees ran away northbound on Woodlawn Avenue from 41st Place.

A short time later responding officers saw one of the detainees, prone on the ground and attempting to hide under a sport utility vehicle, in front of the residence located in the 4000 block of Woodlawn Avenue.  One of the officers grabbed the detainee by his ankles, and as the officer pulled him from under the vehicle, the officers observed what they believed was a chrome/stainless steel handgun in the detainees hand at which time a officer-involved shooting occurred.

The detainee received a single gunshot wound above the right buttock and was transported to a local hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department Rescue Ambulance where he was admitted in critical condition.

The other detainees were held for further investigation and later released. Garcia was arrested for violation of 594 (B) (1) (Felony Vandalism) and booked at Jail Division Metropolitan Detention Center.

The officers involved in the officer-involved shooting have been identified as Police Officer II Jonathan Rocha and Police Officer II Louis Garcia.

The LAPD Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved shooting and all related crimes.  The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Office of 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.