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Inglewood Police Kill Again
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by Heather Limestahl Tuesday May 19, 2009
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Witnesses say that four Inglewood officers opened fire on Marcus Smith, an unarmed man at close range, striking him at least four times in the back, and that an officer was struck by friendly fire. |
Inglewood - A report of people fighting at an after-midnight birthday party resulted in another police shooting by the beleaguered Inglewood Police Department Sunday. A suspect wielding a gun was killed, an officer was wounded in the leg, and the police version of events is contradicted by witnesses.
Tricia Takasugi has the video report.
The police shooting comes as the small police department is retraining its force in the wake of a rash of police shootings, a recent history that has some community members very upset.
Inglewood police officers sent to the 800 block of Osage Avenue about 12:45 a.m. encountered an "adult suspect armed with a handgun" who threatened officers and multiple officers opened fire in response, Lt. Mike McBride said.
One officer was taken to a hospital with a leg wound, and the gunman died, he said.
A semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, McBride said. The incident occurred on a street lined with apartment buildings and houses one block west of The Forum.
"Preliminary evidence suggests that the suspect did fire upon the officers but confirmation is necessary to verify," that account, said McBride.
Reports from the scene indicated a birthday party was in progress.
Witnesses told a freelance video crew that four Inglewood officers opened fire on an unarmed man at close range, striking him at least four times in the back, and that an officer was struck by "friendly fire."
The independent television news crew reported that a 17-year-old boy suffered a broken arm as police tried to subdue and calm the distraught family of the fatally wounded man. Their pictures showed people, apparently witnesses, in handcuffs as police investigated the incident
McBridge said that all of the officers involved in the shooting were put on administrative leave, as is routine in officer-involved shootings, but would not say how many officers fired their weapons.
McBride said that no one was arrested in the incident, though police may have temporarily detained some people in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The latest shooting comes on the heel of major controversy over a string of police shootings in the small, economically diverse city near Los Angeles International Airport.
Last March, the federal Justice Department opened a probe into a series of officer-involved shootings in Inglewood that left three unarmed individuals dead. The department pledged to fully cooperate with the federal investigation.
Before the federal investigation began, the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review was conducting an assessment of department procedures, according to Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks.
In November, the department began sending its officers to a mandatory 120-hour course to improve decision-making and tactical responses, with an extra 20 hours required for all personnel above the rank of sergeant, according to McBride.
All officers were expected to complete the course by this month, McBride said in March.
Representatives from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office are investigating and Inglewood police are conducting separate criminal and administrative investigations of the shooting, McBride said.
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