Sheriff's deputies fatally shot a passenger in a car during an attempted traffic stop who they thought had a weapon and tried to run away, deputies said on Sunday.
The deputy-involved shooting in the 1900 block of East 122nd Street occurred at 10:25 p.m. Saturday, said Deputy Don Walker of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
The driver led deputies on a chase that ended in a crash and a brief foot chase before he was arrested, officials said.
Two deputies fired their weapons at the man in the passenger seat who they said hopped out of the vehicle and raised his arm from his waistband, officials said.
The sheriff's department withheld the man's name, but family members, who put up a makeshift memorial near the spot where he died, identified him as Jose De La Trinidad, 32.
De La Trinidad was a father of two young daughters ages 3 and 6. He worked at Costco in Marina del Rey. His left arm was severed in an accident two years ago – leaving him with a metal rod.
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“I don’t even know how I’m going to get the strength to tell my kids their father was murdered by policemen, the people they’re taught to to go for help,” said his wife, Rosie De La Trinidad.
“Why didn’t they give him a chance at life? Why couldn’t they shoot him in the leg, why did they have to shoot so many times?”
Chris Gomez, De La Trinidad's brother-in-law, said witnesses said they heard shots, but they did not hear deputies order him to stop or put his hands up.
Family members said that the driver of the car was De La Trinidad's older brother, Francisco. He was arrested after crashing his vehicle at El Segundo and Avalon boulevards, deputies said.
No weapon was found, Walker said.
