Peter Rodriguez, 23

Peter Rodriguez, 23, a Latino man, died just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, after being shot by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies during a shootout near the intersection of North Herbert Avenue and Whiteside Street in the vicinity of the 10 Freeway just after midnight.

Sheriff's deputies gave this account: Rodriguez was writing graffiti when two deputies surprised him. They ordered him to stop. He turned, dropped his spraypaint can and pulled out a gun in one motion, they said. He fired, blasting a hole in the back window of the patrol car, and the deputies shot back. Rodriguez was struck once; he was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. He later died.

Comments

[Dave]

LAPD and the Sheriffs Dept. need to be more aggressive with these taggers. They proved in NY City that when you stop the small crimes like tagging, you prevent crimes from escalating into big crimes. A perfect example of this is the murder of Maria Hicks last night by a tagger. Police say to contact them when they see a tagger in action. This time the tagger attacked them and got shot. I have no sympathy for his death.

[ruben]

two killing by cops less than a mile away from eachother in a matter of 14 hours on Aug 14th

[Gabriel]

He's 23 and he's tagging? Good riddance!

[Rick]

Ruben, so what if this the second police shooting in a matter of 14 hours. Maybe this guy would still be alive if he had not puilled a gun first and fired at two deputies. He missed, they did not, case closed. What do you expect the police to do when they see criminal activity in progress. Alot of people are tired of the tagging and the problems it brings.

[eman]

i think you all are a bunch of heartless assholes. graffiti isnt a crime its art, and cops just cant stop it so they choose to be hard on graff, not like there out there raping your kids or selling drugs there just taking up wall space that doesnt belong to nobody but the people

[Ivan]

I live by the place this happened, I wondered why so many cops were going to the scene of the crime, but now I understand. Taggers are like lions they defend their territory, many people have been killed because of tagging. There should be alternative places where it is legal to write.

[John]

Eman, Is it still art when it is covering your house or car or garage door?

[RIccardo]

I'm a former tagger. He was probably just writing his name just to represent himself, and if he had a gun he probably was a gangster putting up his neighborhood on the wall, and that's not art.

It's art when you're creating something beautiful on a wall, and I'm sure this guy shooting at cops was'nt doing that.

Eman, if he was tagging on your house and pulled out a gun when you told him to stop, I bet you wish there were cops around to protect you.

[Frustrated]

So Eman, when did taggers begin to kill 58 yr old grandmothers? If he was just producing art, why did he run and pull out a gun? Get real and stop living in LaLa Land. Crossing each others names on walls that belong to the TAX Payers and people that live on the other side of that wall, is not art buddy! Get a Gripp

[ruben]

Rick

Please tell me you are not that gullable. We live in L.A remember ? Where just last month Elio Carrion was unarmed and shot by Officer webb . Do you remember what he said on the "report" ? He said Carrion got up and "lunged at him and attacked him" and when the video came out we can see him clearly laying down and when the officer ORDERS him up then he shoots. Do you remember Mauricio Cornejo in the Ramona Gardens, where the officers said Cornejo was beating up one officer and later changed there story when a camera phone from a witness was produced. Mauricio later died in a holding tank hancuffed after being beaten by more than 7 cops.

Look I said it before and I'll say it again I respect cops and there jobs, but I'm an educated man who was born and raised in housing projects, and I know cops. Most of them are great men with honor and integrity but some of them have NO business being a cop there just as bad as these thugs on the street and we can't always believe what we read. Get all the facts before we rush to judgement. What do you think the police would have wrote on the police report if the video from Rodney King was never produced? That Mr King was fighting all them, swinging away and attacking them. There is one thing you need to remember Rick and all the people in L.A, is that cops are just people, they make mistakes, they have tempers and bad judgement.

In this particular case Yes the cops were probably justified, but do you even know what the other case i was reffering to? A homeless man under a freeway with a machete, who was probably mentally ill. Let me ask you why couldnt they use tazers or maybe shoot him in the legs instead of shooting him 6 times in the chest. Now remember these are just 2 cases in 1 day in L.A. So Rick please tell me you don't think all 30 or 40 (which we're on pace to hit) Officer Involved Kiliings are ALL JUSTIFIED.

[ruben]

Rick

If you believe Tagging = Death is resonable please move to IRAQ.

[Rudolph]

This person that died was my friend and it just so happens I know the real story. First of all he was unarmed, second he was shot more than once because it was like ten times. Everybody here should just know he was tagging and there were shots fired but not by my friend. He was mistakenly shot and repeatadly shot. Everybody that knows him and that close to him is devasted. He was a agreat friend and will be missed.

[Maria]

You people really believe that people that tag deserve to be killed? These kiilings are sensless killings. A guy is 23 years old and gets killed because he is tagging; does life value have diminish this much? This person was a human being, desoriented, perhaps, his crime was not a murderous crime for heavens sake, life is precious and sacred. We all have people that regardless of our shorcomings love us. When a person is killed there is a lot of suffering left behind that killed person. Think about it. May God change our hearts and make us more sensitive to the pain that taggers and many other young men that do destructive things are carring in their hearts.

[wes]

eman are you an idiot it is a crime go spray paint something you own then its art, if your writing on public or personal property its a crime

[ruben]

If the suspect did shoot at the cop YES it was justified but ....tagging = punishable by death NO stop talking non-sense people...please tell me my fellow Angelinos have not became this angry and ignorant...let the crime = punishment.

[unico]

his weapon was not a spray can it was a gun!! he had a gun. maybe he thought it was some rivals creepin on him, but none the less he shot at the cops. taggin should not be a lethal crime, but having a gun and pointing it at the cops will get you killed. i feel sorry for this guy, but people carrying guns usually use them. this guy had a gun and used it. if he didnt have a gun and got shot then it would be a different story. but even then the cops would have said they mistook the can for a gun. point being dont go taggin up spots. stick to the wash. and dont be so quick to go for the reach.

[Kat]

Ruben,
in one of your emails you mention a few names. All the names you mentioned not an innocent one in the bunch. If each had done exactly what was asked/expected of them none of them would have found themselves in the situation that they did. So my sympathy for each of them is right around zero. Even Carrion who towards the end of the his incounter with Webb was doing the right thing...he didn't do the right thing leading up to the incident. So the fact that you can remember not so innocent people who did stupid things to put themselves in questionable situations doesn't make for such a great argument. Besides, I don't want the police to use less than lethal weapon's If standing between me and the perons who is going to hurt me is a cop with a gun or a cop with a taser I want the cop with the gun standing between us ready and willing to pull the triger to save me, him/her self and my property. And before you say anything...Yes!! kill to protect my property. If I work hard for it no one should have the right to take it away, including tagging the wall that I pay taxes on! Victimless crime NO...we are all victim's of the crime it's the taxes we pay that keep up the walls and other public areas where tagging is displayed.

[john]

mauricio cornejo was a parolee at large wanted by the department of corrections with a gun, with narcotics, who didnt want to go back to jail. if he would of just stood there and let the officers do their job, he still would be alive today. there needs to be zero tolerance with all gangmembers and taggers. the biggest problem in those communities is the weak leadership the good people have, people like councilman jose "weasel" huizar. by far councilman huizar is the biggest gang sympathizer that i know of and that will lead to his downfall in his political aspirations. councilman huizar supports the gangmembers more then he does the police officers and good hard working people in his jurisdiction.

[ruben]

Kat and John

I love having these discussions with people like yourselves because it seems we both share the compassion and were both interested in our communities, however that being said, i can tell both of you did some research and looked for these 2 cases (which is a small fraction of Officer involved shootings) but let me ask you where did you get your research from ? Did you go to the Inland Empire and ask Carrion or anyone who was there? Did you guys go to the Ramona Housing Projects and ask questions from the dozens of witnesses ? I didnt think so ,but i did . Now I'm not blaming you guys, but both of you are getting your information from the same source...the LAPD or some form of the POLICE (Sheriffs CHP etc.). They write the reports and the media airs it or prints it out and then its in the hands of public opinion.

Like I also said before I know many "good" cops and many who knew Officer Webb and they knew the kind of temper he had and they told me about how many of them were NOT surprised this happened, and if you want to talk about being in wrong situations Kat what choice did Carrion have he was a PASSENGER in his friends car who YES was speeding and drunk but in the video if you listen to it's entirety Carrion is coherent and apologetic towards officer and saying his friend made a stupid mistake.
And as far as Cornejo John I was born and raised in these housing projects and didnt get my facts from the paper or from Jill Leovy i went straight to the source, the area it happened. Thats where i saw the video and thats why the LAPD is trying to settle quickly and quietly with the family.
And did you guys also hear about when there was a fund raising car wash the next day for Mauricio Cornejo the LAPD showed up in Full Riot gear telling everyone to disperse and yes I WAS THERE. And when my friend went to flag down a van from channel 22 thats when the police decided to let the fund raiser continue. And when another one of my friends Gerard Hernandez was shot the next day (seperate incident) both of you were NOT in the hospital and did not hear the cops laughing and saying "good riddance" and humming the song of "another one bites the dust" ...BUT I WAS. These officers thought he was just another gang member shot in the projects they didnt know he didnt even live here anymore that he moved to Victorville and he was just down here for the fundraiser, that he was a new dad and was not gang banging. He put himself in that situation ...yeah i guess he did ..but when one of you guys runs out of gas and gets off at South Central or East LA at 3 AM and gets murdered I'm not going to read the report and say "oh well what are they doing in that area at 3 AM".

Look I know it's hard cause we all do it and I'm guilty of it too but before we pass judgement let's try to look at ALL the facts and not just from one point of view. As I stated before I RESPECT and APPRECIATE the LAPD and all police force as a matter of fact i considered becoming one, but as i grew up and began to run into more and more "shady" cops i changed my mind, but i still know theres many many good cops out there, but i also know theres 2 sides to every story.

Lets not forget who were talking about here too(Peter Rodriguez), I havent looked too much into this story but like i said IF he shot at cops YES then the shooting was justified.... But C'mon Kat I was just starting to respect your comment til you said if someone is tagging on your property the cops should kill them to protect it. Thats just ignorant and you sound worse then most criminals. Like i said before if you think that YOU should pick up and leave to IRAQ i heard they have those kind of laws out there and while your out there give our boys a hand, they can use it.

[Kat]

Ruben,

I wrote this long draw out response to you...however, I didn't see any point in sending it. We do not agree probably never will. Allow me to tell you this one very short story: I was doing some shopping at the local market midday, as I walked out of the market and to my car (was holding a 3 month old in my arms) someone pushed me up against my car the one bag i was carring fell to the ground I put both arms around the baby to hold her from falling. With that I was given demands do this don't do that...one of the quotes from Cornejo was: if you try to get away I'll blow your brains out! I stood there between him and my car with my back up against him as he grinded himself into me holding a gun at the back of my head. When he was done he took the $20.00 I had in my pocket and ran off. So once again, I say of all the names you mentioned NONE of them were innocent victims of the situations they found themselves in. I hope Cornejo felt all the terror and fright that I did on that night right before he died, only then will I think justice was served. You and I will never see eye to eye on this subject, You will never make me understand prisoner's rights, or why they should have certain things, I will never make you understand why I feel the way I do. But I do stand by your right to say it inspite of the fact that I may not agree. Have a wonderful day sir....and I hope you get far in your quest for prisoner's rights and the rights of criminals....even though I will be leading the march for victim's rights and Justice for victim's. Good luck in your quest, to right the wrong hopefully you wish me the same in my quest for longer prison sentences and to up hold the 3 strikes law.

[ruben]

Wow Kat

I trully do apologize if this is true I'm sorry to hear what happened to you, however i couldnt help to notice that in another blog (about the homeless man killed by officers in a machete) you mentioned your husband was the officer who shot him, so if this is true I'm sorry to hear that, but if your creating these wild stories it is sad and I wish you well on your fight for the law enforcement. And not to mention did you even REALLY know Mauricio Cornejo because like i said i grew up in the same neighborhood with him and yes he was a criminal but he was a Drug Dealer all his life and as far back as i remember he always had nice cars, watches and diamonds and the night he was pulled over it was in his brand new BMW so for him to rob you for 20.00 that seems really strange and doubtful. So I hope your not wrongly accusing him or just plain making these stories up to justify more police MURDERS.

Now as far as justifying criminals I am all FOR the death penalty and voted YES for the 3 strikes and harsh punishment for criminals but NEVER will i say tagging or petty crime equals death. I am a strong believer in our justice system and believe that crime should equal punishment.

[ruben]

Story sounds kind of made up Kat and thats sad that you have that much time on your hands that you can sit there and create this whole fairy tale and lie about these deceased people...if you have THAT much time on your hands you need to go volunteer at Ramona Gardens Recreational Ctr. or Hazard Park Rec Ctr. or even a hospital please do something positive with your time instead of creating these stories

[ruben]

Okay Kat

So now i just got confirmation from his family and friends that Mauricio was NEVER arrested nor charged with any Burglaries thefts or car jackings of any sort so now you have some explaining to do because not only did i use to read your comments on the homicide report i respected them and really took them into consideration, but if your creating stories now I'm totally questioning your credibility.

[Daledo]

Where can citizens go to review internal investigation reports, once they are released? I usually support the police in most circumstances. Having said that, I am becoming concerned.

It seems that we see the story in the news, (if the story is even reported) and then everything goes quiet unless it is a high-profile person or a high-profile case. I
understand why nobody makes a comment while the official investigation is "ongoing", but once the investigation is over we still seem to hear nothing.

So, where do the reports get released to the public? Does every city release it differently? It's unnerving to read the story, feel the emotions, and then watch as the story just seems to drift away.

I have tried a few different resources and searches but I have found nothing. Can anybody please give me advice or point me in the right direction?