Officer Involved Shooting in West Los Angeles NR13501ne

UPDATE

The officer involved in the below incident has been identified as Police Officer III Peter Mah

Los Angeles:  On Sunday, November 17, 2013, around 1:35 a.m., West Los Angeles Area patrol officers responded to a radio call “Assault with a Deadly Weapon” in the 1200 block of Stone Canyon Road, in Bel Aire.

The incident began when, a gas company employee, responded to the residence for a report of a gas leak.  When he arrived to check on the leak he became the victim of an Assault with a Deadly Weapon (ADW) when unbeknownst to him the home occupant, later identified as Robert Bandler, fired a single gunshot at him.  When the gas employee knocked at the front door, the suspect pointed a handgun at him and directed him off the property.  The gas employee fled the area in his company vehicle.  The radio call was generated after he called 911 to report the incident.

The officers met with the gas employee and completed an Investigative Report (IR) for the ‘ADW’.   The officers along with a sergeant proceeded to the 1200 block of Stone Canyon Road to conduct a follow-up investigation at the residence.  One officer deployed his Police Rifle and the other officers donned their ballistic helmets.  As they approached the residence, the sergeant observed the suspect Bandler through a first floor window in possession of a handgun and directed the officers to redeploy to cover outside the driveway security gate.  Officers remained in a kneeling position behind the hedges that lined the driveway and observed Bandler, now on the second story balcony, in possession of a shotgun.  Bandler pointed the shotgun at the officers resulting in an officer-involved shooting (OIS).

The officers forced entry into the residence and found the suspect Bandler prone on the balcony floor inflicted with an apparent gunshot wound and handcuffed him.  The Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced Bandler dead at scene.  There were no officers injured during the incident.

Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of 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.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged 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 www.LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.