Man shot dead in confrontation with police near Koreatown

A Los Angeles police officer shot a man to death early Saturday morning east of Koreatown.

Police said the shooting occurred around midnight but they did not have any further information.

-- Jessica Garrison

Comments

[Tom]

Shoot first, ask questions later?

[Jones]

Steven was a wonderful guy who I met when I took my public speaking class at Los Angeles City College. I remember the first day of class how surprised I was that despite what some may see as a disability, he had the courage to stand up and introduce himself and tell his story. During his cultural narrative speech he talked inspiringly about not making excuses and finding away to to accomplish your goals. It was more than moving and I'm glad he was a part of the class.

I don't know what happen during this incident and I won't pretend to. i just know he was the most gentle and friendly guy. With communication being what he was supposed to be the worst at, he fought hard to be an excellent speaker. Thanks for those memories, Steven!

Tony

[Jones]

Sorry I mistyped. I taught the class and Steven took the class...

[David T. Vahedi]

This is such a sad story for the victim, his family, and for the officers.

While no wants a rush to judgment, if our officers made a mistake, then this is a great opportunity for Chief Beck to show the community that the LAPD is willing to always find ways to use a tragedy to better train our officers to avoid the same thing from happening again.

Several years ago, Sheriff Baca, shortly after a shooting admitted that his department had made a mistake. Everyone was shocked at his candid response and his department’s relationship with the community improved.

Last year, I think in Long Beach, a man heard noise in his backyard and went outside with a broom. An officer saw the man and shot and killed him. The chief, within a few days, at a press conference admitted the shooting was a mistake.

Finally, on Halloween, at a hillside party several years ago, an officer saw a man through a window draw a weapon. The officer drew his weapon and when the man did not stop moving after verbal commands, the officer shot and killed him.

Further investigation showed the shooting was a tragic mistake and all Officers learned from the incident.

I hope the public will give the LAPD a chance to do a proper investigation of this incident and I hope if this was a tragic accident that the officers will not be hung out to dry by the Department.

[citizen]

Shoot first. Police need to be better trained to spot someone who has austim.