Central Officers Respond to a Help Call Requested by Firefighters for Woman Armed with Knife NR11341rh

Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrol officers from Central Area were responding to a help call requested by the Los Angele Fire Department.

On July 22, 2011, at around 5 p.m., Central Area Officers responded to a radio call of a violent female suffering from mental illness in the 300 block of East Ann Street.  The radio call was upgraded to “Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) firefighters requesting help for a female armed with a knife.”  Central Area police officers upgraded their response, and were advised by on-scene LAFD personnel that the female was still inside the residence armed with a knife.

Officers entered the residence to investigate and could hear the female inside a bathroom.  They ordered her out of the bathroom and she exited the bathroom holding a knife in her left hand, yelling incoherently.  She began to approach the officers holding the knife in a threatening manner.  She was ordered to drop the knife, but did not comply, at which time a taser was deployed on the suspect with no effect.  The suspect continued to advance on the officers; at which time an officer involved shooting occurred.  The suspect went down to the ground and was immediately taken into custody.

On scene Los Angeles Fire Department personnel transported the suspect to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

No officers were injured in the incident.  A serrated steak knife was recovered at the scene.  LAPD Force Investigation Division personnel are investigating the officer involved shooting.

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.