The Los Angeles Police Commission has rejected the chief's recommendation to clear two officers in the fatal shooting an unarmed autistic man.
Chief Charlie Beck found that the officers made serious tactical mistakes in the encounter, but ultimately were justified in using deadly force against Steven Eugene Washington, 27.
About midnight on March 20, 2010, Officers Allan Corrales and George Diego, who worked in an anti-gang unit, were driving a patrol car along Vermont Avenue in Koreatown. They told investigators they heard what one described as a “deep boom” behind them, the Los Angeles Times reported based on an edited version of the chief's report.
The names of the officers are left out of the edited report, and it was unclear which officer did what.
According to the report:
The officers looked behind them and saw Washington walking in the opposite direction. They turned the car around and drove slowly behind him, with the officer in the passenger calling out to the man.
The officer told investigators Washington turned toward him, gave him a “hard” look, then reached into his pants.
The officer who was driving pulled alongside Washington. From a few feet away, his partner saw a dark object tucked into Washington's waistband and, convinced it was a gun, drew his own weapon and pointed it at the man.
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Washington turned and started walking toward the patrol car, as the driving officer brought the car to a stop.
The officer in the passenger seat told investigators Washington had a “blank stare” as if in a daze and ignored orders to raise his hands.
From the car, the passenger officer fired a single shot into Washington's head. The officer driving the car also fired a shot a few seconds later.
Washington did not have a gun. The officers may have mistaken his cellular telephone, which was carried on his waist, for a gun. Coroner's investigators found the phone still in its holster on Washington's waist.
Beck found that Corrales and Diego violated department policies in how they approached and engaged Washington, but he decided it was reasonable for them to believe the man had a gun and intended to shoot them, reported The Times.
The five-member Police Commission, which is mostly composed of lawyers, disagreed. The panel found that the officers violated LAPD policies that govern when an officer can use lethal force.
Since Beck became chief more than a year ago, the panel has overruled him only three times out of dozens of cases.
The commission was expected to disclose its ruling in the case next week.
