Officer Involved Shooting in Hollenbeck NR14008ne

UPDATE

Updated:  The officer involved in the below incident has been identified as Police Officer II John Acosta.

Los Angeles: On December 25, 2013, around 11:25 p.m., Hollenbeck Area patrol officers were in the vicinity of the 7-11 Market in the 3400 block of North Mission Road having just cleared from an “Attempt Robbery” radio call at nearby Lincoln Park.  As the officers began to drive into the parking lot, they saw two male Hispanics walking away from a Toyota Camry with paper plates which they recognized as matching the suspect vehicle from their previous radio call.  

The officers detained the two males outside the 7-11 Market and were in the process of handcuffing them when they saw the Toyota Camry driving out of the parking lot onto Selig Place.  As the vehicle turned northbound onto Mission Road from Selig Place, it momentarily stopped and one of the officers attempted to detain the driver, later identified as Erick Ortega, and a rear seat passenger.  Ortega suddenly reached under the driver’s seat and removed a dark object, at which time an officer-involved shooting (OIS) occurred.  

The vehicle fled northbound on Mission Road but was later located in the 3600 block of Barbee Street where both Ortega and the other male Hispanic were taken into custody.  Ortega was observed to have an injury to his right hand and was transported by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics to a local hospital for medical treatment.  Medical personnel subsequently determined the injury to Ortega’s hand was not the result of a gunshot.  No officers were injured during the incident.  No weapon was recovered.

One of the two male Hispanics originally detained in front of the 7-11 Market, later identified as Edwin Martinez, was subsequently arrested for Possession of a Cane Sword.  The two other male Hispanics with Ortega and Martinez were questioned and released.  

Los Angeles Police Department Force Investigation Division (FID) responded to the incident and will be handling the investigation of the officer-involved shooting.

The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, 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.