Non Hit Officer-Involved Shooting in 77th NR12490vh

October 29, 2012

Update:

The officer involved in the below officer-involved shooting has been identified as Police Officer III Eduardo Mendez.

Los Angeles: On October 4, 2012, around 7:00 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department, Metropolitan Division Officers were working crime suppression in the area west of 63rd Place in the 77th Street Area.   The Officers saw four people outdoors drinking alcohol at the rear of 708 West Gage Avenue.  The officers stopped their police car.  The passenger officer began to do a “pat down” search of an unidentified suspect, when the suspect, later identified as Harold Martinez, ran away northbound on Gage Ave.  The officer pursued Martinez on foot.  As the partner officer entered the rear yard, he saw that the passenger officer was in foot pursuit of the suspect and ran to the east side of the location in an effort to assist his partner.

Suspect Martinez while running, pointed a gun at the pursuing officer at which time an officer involved-shooting occurred.  Martinez was not struck and continued to run away from the officers.  Officers were able to overtake Martinez and take him into custody.  Both officers saw Martinez toss a gun into the side yard of 704 West Gage Avenue. The gun was found and booked as evidence.

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.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call the FID 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.