Suspect Lunges at Officers with a Knife Officer-Involved Shooting Occurs NR12009rf

January 18, 2012

Update: The Officers involved in the below officer involved shooting have been identified as Police Officer III+1 Dennis Cunningham, 13 years, 5 months with the Department and Police Officer Haissam Sabra, 13 years, 7 months with the Department.

Los Angeles: Two LAPD Topanga Division patrol officers were engaged in an officer-involved shooting while conducting a follow-up investigation in North Hollywood. The suspect who was shot remains in critical condition in the hospital. At about 1:45 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2012, two officers were looking for an assault suspect at an apartment in the 5200 block of Colfax Avenue in North Hollywood. After knocking on the door of one of the units, they were met with a resident who was not the person they were seeking. However, the resident informed them that the man they wanted to question, 47-year-old Mark Miles, was inside the unit. As soon as the officers entered the unit, Miles displayed a steak knife and pointed it at the officers. Officers drew their weapons and ordered Miles to drop his knife, but he refused. He then lunged forward at the officers, holding the knife in a threatening manner, and the officer-involved shooting ensued. Immediately after the shooting, officers called for medical assistance, and the suspect was taken to a hospital. No officers were injured during the incident. 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 LAPD’s 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.