LAPD defends massive dragnet for gunman who shot officer; search resumes this morning

The Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday was resuming its search for a suspect who opened fire on  a school police officer in Woodland Hills, saying they hoped to distribute a composite sketch later Thursday.

The suspect eluded a massive 7-square-mile dragnet the LAPD set up after the shooting in front of El Camino Real High School. The LAPD closed off a large swath of the area as more than 300 officers searched for the gunman. More than 8,000 students spent hours locked inside their schools.

Police said they had no regrets that people were inconvenienced.

"Our police officer was inconvenienced because he was shot," LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said. "I stand by these decisions."

Authorities also tried to reassure parents, students and residents that the area would be safe when classes resumed Thursday morning.

"The students can come here and feel safe," Los Angeles school police Chief Steven Zipperman said."We will have a very strong presence here and in and around campus."

Some students who were reunited with their parents following the lockdown Wednesday of nine area schools told the Los Angeles Times that they were not planning to go to school Thursday morning.

The officer was shot in the chest, but he was saved by protective body armor, authorities said. Zipperman said the officer had been released from a hospital and was resting at home with his family.

That massive search disrupted daily routines for thousands of people as cars were searched, roads were blocked and schools were sealed.

Albanese said the gunman, whom the officer stopped after noticing suspicious activity, made a "huge, huge statement" by opening fire in the middle of the day.

"When a police officer's life is threatened," Albanese said, "it threatens our very existence."

Anyone with information is asked to call (877) LAPD 24-7 (527-3247).

The dragnet Wednesday trapped thousands of students and teachers inside their classrooms for hours. The time passed slowly in Natasha Zwick's English class at El Camino Real High School.

To pass the time, Zwick and her 36 students set up a television and watched newscasts about the shooting. Soon, they became hungry and shared a sandwich, a bag of pretzels and a few other snacks that students had brought.

"The bathroom was the worst issue because we weren't allowed out," Zwick told the L.A. Times.

She said they set up a makeshift bathroom with a trash can. It wasn't ideal, she said, but no one complained.

"The kids were amazing," Zwick said.  "Nobody complained, nobody whined, nobody cried."

RELATED:

Students pour out of El Camino Real High after lockdown

Parents wait hours in line to get children at Hale Middle School

Teacher, students shared food, kept spirits high inside El Camino Real High classroom

-- Bob Pool and Robert J. Lopez

Students pour out of El Camino Real High after lockdown

Comments

[john]

It is really disheartening to read some of the twisted logic in these comments. One person thinks that "the cop CAUSED the...shooting"? How does a sane person arrive at that conclusion? And all the other second-guessing and complaining about the police response from a bunch of people NONE OF WHOM carry the day-to-day responsibility that cops do or possess a fraction of the courage it takes to place themselves in harm's way on behalf of the rest of us the way cops do. What a place we've arrived at when we have the luxury of sitting back on our big fat butts and complain about people who put their lives on the line to protect us. Disgusting, really.

[Boomer]

All i got to say is welcome to big brother land. You and your family do not mean anything to the powers to be. Imagine a land of free and equality. wow i would love to live there.

[ISuppor PD]

The negative outpoor towards these cops is utterly disgusting. Really people? If that idiot would have shot up someone in your family, would you have the same complaints and ignorant comments? And who would scowering the streets to find that scumbag?? YOU??? No, you'd be safe in your house, in front of your computer looking for something else to complain about. Try thanking a cop today. Unbelievable!

[Private_Shooter]

I guess it was an inconvenience for everyone that a manhunt for a suspect caused alot of chaos. The fact of the matter is that, whenever something like that happens again and again. There will be nothing but CHAOS. I'm not a cop or a thug, but I am a person that looks at things from all point of views. IF this suspect had the balls to shoot a cop he probably has the balls to run into a house, school, store, and grab a child, women, elder person and hold them hostage. I am sure if that was the story this morning everyone would be doing a different song and dance. We all know the media has slow days and the networks need their ratings. They jump on such stories like a fox in a hen house. Everyone knows there are bad apples in any law enforcement agencies. I don't care much for those bad apples but they still put their lives on the line everytime they are out there on duty or off. If you haven't noticed this is not a perfect world and things don't workout like they should. So suck it up and let them do their job regardless how you see them do it. If you ever want to know what it takes to be a cop or understand their role in this twisted society go for a ride along. I DARE YOU!

[ThaBeav]

I think the real problem was that the Parents were not told what was going on. They were understandably worried about their children.

Maybe LAPD should be more forthcoming with information with obviously upset parents.

[Comic_Guy]

Amazing how these Liberals, criminals, and morons (sorry to be redundant) are taking the side of the suspect, blame the school police for getting shot, or think it's a good idea to let the students out on the streets so they can be in harms way. These are the same idiots that would've blamed the police for NOT securing the area if the suspect on the loose had shot and killed a student. It's easy to criticize when you're eating your Cheerios in your underwear, and don't risk your life everyday you go to work. If you think you have all the right answers, then by all means, go through the academy, put on a uniform, and see how much better your solutions really are. Nevermind, you won't. Just finish up your Cheerios.

[tim]

This just the beginning of our police state.

[anon]

There seems to be complete lack of common sense and judgement, not to say physical prowess in our police force. It was the same LAPD that had over 3,000 officers for Michael Jackson's funeral, and now unnecessarily inconvenience kids and frighten them and their parents, and shoot a naked man at Playa Vista, cause two men could not control him or ask for back-up. We need a thorough evaluation of a police force that eats up 70% of the city's budget. If 300 officers can be spared to catch one man, then perhaps we have too many.

[EXBCMC]

It is quite amusing. Anyone not living in the San Fernando Valley of L.A. can now see what morons reside out there by reading some of these posts. The cop caused the shooting. God, what will YOU ever do to support yourself when you GROW UP?

[Cosmo Kramer]

No doubt what happened was horrible and fortunately the officer survived. However.....the pictures of some 200 plus police cars and countless officers standing around, all the while collecting over-time, didn't help put a better face on the LAPD.

And yes, I agree with others that had this NOT BEEN a police office, the response would have been drastically smaller. The ""Double Standard" still sadly exists.

[kevin]

Channel 5 news in Los Angeles aired this story for 6 or 7hrs straight. The news Chopper followed a police car to a Jack in the Box and filmed him ordering food in the drive thru. I understand that the children need to be protected, but there were hundreds of police just standing around talking. They could of sent groups of police to the different schools and help get the kids out and back to their parents. The news station was spuing propoganda like the schools were keeping the kids locked in their classroom and not giving them any food or water and not allowing them to go the bathroom. The news said that the kids had to use a bucket in the classroom if they needed to use the bathroom. Also kids were being starved!!

LAPD does have the right to protect their own...but they acted like BAFOONS and the news station acted like MORONS..

[Sophie]

That's ridiculous. I could see that they couldn't allow people to leave the campus, but not to allow them to use the restroom?? They could have easily had the students searched, screened the restrooms, and allowed one person at a time to use the restroom. Or designated certain times for people to go.

[ProtectAndServe]

So in order of police priorities:
1. Defend their own
2. issue traffic citations
1000. protect and serve

In their view, there are only cops and potential criminals. There are no law abiding citizens.

[alan hart]

This is utter contempt for their employers. If a regular citizen were shot at the same location at the same time, a dozen officers would canvass the neighborhood and that would be that. Because it was a "Police" officer, it somehow required a massive hunt.

The citizens who hire the police are more important than the police themselves. If they don't like it, they can find other overpaid jobs elsewhere.

[Common Sense]

I love how supporters of police overtime and excess, try to rebut argments about a reasonable and proportionate response to these shooting incidents, by asking "who would you call if your wife/sister/fill-in-the-blank was getting raped?" The only reason we call the police at all is because they have a government MONOPOLY on security services. And most of the time, the police response is totally incompetent and unhelpful.

[Fred Franken]

Kids peeing in a trash can because a cop was shot at?

If only our budget was as big as their egos.

[WOW]

that cop is asuch a baby.
the gun shot isnt even what injured him.
he injured himself falling to the ground after the bullet hit his body armour

[Mayor]

Why the shut down? Who is more important, the cop or the students. When students have been shot at campuses there is no shutdown of this magnitude. Yet when a cop is shot the police goes crazy over the top and have little to nothing to show for it. Your tax dollars at work people.

[DR. MADISON]

This was a practice drill for major Earthquake / Tsunami headed for L.A.

Get OUT of L.A. NOW.

[Will Campbell]

You couldn't pay me enough to be a cop. But you don't have to pay me a dime to support them. Toughest job in the world and then situations like this go down and it seems to me like they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. Either their tactics are harshed and ridiculed as too severe or condemned for being too weak.

Certainly it doesn't help when after so intense and tactical a manhunt the suspect remains at large, but it cracks me up how posted officers on the scene are found guilty by some lame-brained commenters of "not doing anything," while others basically absolve the "crackhead" shooter of any responsibility for the whole mess.

[lecloche]

I don't understand the ire. A gunman, after shooting a police officer while committing a felony in a school parking lot (that makes him dangerous three time over in my opinion) runs around loose in the area. The police scramble every available able body the cordon off and search the area and people complain about the "inconvenience" associated with the police assuring the safety of the area. I have been known to be a staunch critic of police procedure but this for me is a no brainer. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[bad boys]

The cops panic every tine some one gives them back some of there own medicine,just take for example when they pull you over or you see somone else pulled over there always 3 to4 cops cars there massive waste of money to have enough cops on the force to do that,and then sit around without anything to do but eat donuts I say eat deese nuts.

[Maxmax]

Can students just "feel safe" or will they "be safe"?

"The students can come here and feel safe," Los Angeles school police Chief Steven Zipperman said."We will have a very strong presence here and in and around campus."

[ProtectAndServe]

For those defending the police action, read the chief's quote again. This was not about protecting the public, this was about the cop that got shot. I'm sorry the guy got shot, but there is no way that the police would ever respond in such a way, if it was not a police officer that was shot. This is the worst of double standards. Cops and everyone else.

[astrid]

i think that this cop was doing his job idk how their could be people that all they do is talk bad about cops he was doing his job an if their is someone suspecious obviously the cop will assume something an make sure he was keeping the students safe in school. if it wasnt for that cop then maybe if the students were coming outside the suspect would have shot one of them... i just wanna say that who ever is talking bad about the cops think about this what if your car was being stolen or your kid could have been in danger coming out of school the first thing that pops in your mind is 911 so thank the cop for at least doing his job an trying to keep the kids safe because i dont think another family should have suffered hearing their kid was shot during school.