Deputy Kills Unarmed Man in South LA
Family Calls Deputy a 'Murderer' and Request Full Investigation
RMG News
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies are investigation a deputy-involved-shooting in the Athens area of South LA.
It happened just after 10pm Monday. Detectives say they were looking for two robbery suspects in the area of Poindexter and Van Buren. When they came upon that intersection, they saw two men on the front porch of a home in the 1200 block of Poindexter. Detectives say one of the men ran into the backyard, falling victim to a deputy's gunshots.
The family of the victim has identified him as 36-year-old Derrick Collins, Sr, a father of two and a student of barber school who was set to graduate in February.
“They just murdered my brother, that’s what they did," said Eric Huckabee, "It was a wrongful shooting and whoever the deputy was should go to jail for murder."
Detectives say they told Collins to "freeze." When he didn't, they opened fire, saying they never got the chance to question him about the robbery.
“The deputies never got that far before he ran and the shooting occurred," said Lt. Dave Dolson, “We’re looking into whether he was involved but we don’t have that information at this time.”
The family pointed out the three bullet holes in a wooden gate to the backyard. They say Collins ran into the backyard and the shots were fired through the gate, striking him in the back. All that was left Tuesday morning was a puddle of his blood.
"Why would they kill him?" asked Kendra Dean, mother of Collins' 16-month-old boy, "They're supposed to serve and protect, they ain't doin' that for me, they ain't doin' that for Derrick Collins, Senior because they killed him, they shot him down."
Detectives say they expect the case to take days, possibly weeks to finalize. The deputy who pulled the trigger was said to have been with the department for about a decade.
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