Man shot dead by LAPD officer in Playa Vista

A man was shot and killed early Friday by a Los Angeles Police Department officer following a scuffle in Playa Vista.

Two officers responded to a disturbance call in the 5200 block of Crescent Park about 3:30 a.m. when they were confronted by the man, who began fighting them, said Officer Cleon Joseph, a police spokesperson.

KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported the man was seen running naked outside an upscale beach condominium.

During the scuffle, one of the officers shot the man, whose name was not released. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead soon after, Joseph said. The officers suffered minor injuries.

-- Stephen Ceasar

Photo: LAPD officers conduct their investigation into an officer-involved shooting in the 5200 block of Crescent Park. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Disgusted in Los Angeles]

Thank you LAPD for making yet another case for the demilitarization of the police. If you feel the need to use a firearm on a naked man, you have too many use of force options. We, as a society need to decide we've had enough, replace the leash, and bring the police back to the level of us mere mortals.

[peabo]

well they cant use the old"he was reaching for a gun" lie they always use

[jdd]

This does not surprise me. This happened in front of my building. Pacific Division sent about 20 cops to subdue a bicyclist about a month ago right here, too. When I called them to ask why, they said that the group of bicyclists were 'dangerous anarchists' and the cops would be looking out for one another.

The police today were describing what happened only as a 'shooting' on "Jefferson" to us. Apparently, they must think they have to defend incompetents at Pacific Division who, essentially, murdered a guy (he was naked, how could he be a threat to armed men?). The Times should investigate Pac. Division - -everything I've seen from that station suggests Rampart-lite.

[Come on]

RIP Reggie Doucet. What kind of cop shoots a naked man? Punk coward

[Oastrid]

Are there just to many police men with an authority erection?
This is very sad, a life has been taken with out any reason.

[kurgen99]

Umm, how is deadly force justified if the guy was naked?

[Mari]

He was half naked & shot to death! His life was taken unnecessarily. Coward cops could have tazed him....didn't have to shoot & kill him!

[TIA]

REST IN PEACE REGGIE, SUCH A TRAGEDY !! MY HEART GOES OUT TO UR FAMILY N FRIENDS !! IMA MISS UR BEAUTIFUL SMILE :)

[TIA]

REST IN PEACE REGGIE, MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOUR FAMILY N FRIENDS. IMA MISS UR BEAUTIFUL SMILE :)

[RIP REGGIE]

R.I.P REGGIE YOU WAS ALWAYS A CLASS ACT DUDE HE WASNT JUST SOME HOODLUM HE HAD HIS STUFF TOGETHER GOOGLE UP REGINALD DOUCET JR BEFORE PEOPLE START BAD MOUTHING THIS GUY COPS ARE PUNK COWARDS

[kb]

could be the officer mistakenly drew his service weapon when he thought he drew a taser, this mistake has occurred a few times in the past, like that bay area transit officer, there have been other mistakes that lead to no charges. the problem is training, and where they mount their firearm and taser weapon (which is the same shape as a firearm)

[John Masa]

Obviously you have never been in a fight for your life. A naked man is a strong indicator of mental illness or a sign of a drug crazed person. They are sometimes violent and don't follow direction too well. And yes, a physical altercation can become quite deadly. So unless you know some more facts, I suggest reserving rash judgement until more facts are in. I do understand that the constitution guarantees your right to free speech, even at the cost of sounding off the wall. Ignorance is not bliss.

These men & women in blue risk their life on a daily basis too project you while you comfortably sleep at night in the comfort of your own home. Its sometimes called the thin blue line. They are the only thing between your hopefully peaceful existence and the total chaos. It's a job that must be done, for mankind has proved it cannot peacefully regulate itself.

[grace]

This is unfair, and I'm very upset how this was handled. This man could've been taysered or constrained. This man was extremely talented and comes from a great family. He is in no shape or form a deliquent but rather a person who got too drunk and made poor choices. This is not okay! The police officer made the wrong choice and could've easily taken a different route.

[Truth Teller]

Maybe not to others reading or hearing about this, but typically, people in their right mind don't run down the streets NAKED, typically, people don't fight police officers..... These are just a couple clues that something is seriously wrong with that individual..... often times people under the influence of serious mind altering substances (drugs), remove their clothes ...... my educated guess would be, that when the entire story is revealed, we will find that a fight over the officer's gun caused this shooting. Historically, a high percentage of officers killed in the line of duty is by their own gun.

[KS]

This is outrageous.

Reggie doucet was a good man. He came from a GREAT family..... I can't believe it HAD to come to this.

RIP Reggie

[Ray]

Were these cops afraid to get their uniforms dirty?

[Tachuela]

So, we have another unarmed suspect killed by trigger happy cops. What did they fear for their lives should this nude supect fart in their direction. Come on. Where is the sense of this murder by cop.

Tachuela

[Compak]

They CAN"T use "he was reaching for a gun,and i was fearing for my life,thought about my 2 little girls at home...so i shot him TWICE." He was naked,no where to hide any weapon,they could have used their tasers.There should be a "CRIMINAL "investigation.No ands,if,or buts.PERIOD.

[J.C.]

It sickens me to know that an office can kill someone cold blooded for no good reason. What has this world become? Here our president is speaking in Tucson, AZ about how we need to unite as a country and here are our own, who are supposed to protect us....killing us. I hope the State of CA gets involved and does something to punish these cops.Not giving them paid leave. They deserve life in jail for murder. Not a slap on the wrist. He took a good guy away from his family and his baby. God help our country..... From the police and the terrorists.

[Jessica S]

I had the Great Pleasure of meeting Reggie and his brother Alex and his Dad a few years ago when thay lived in FL. Reggie was a true, Stand up Guy. He came from a well respected, GREAT family and that's how he acted. He wasn't just some punk from the streets. Although, even if he was, does that give LAPD the right to shoot and KILL an UNARMED, NAKED man ??? Even if he was fighting with them, I think there was a different solution to his terrible tragedy. I am a Criminal Justice MAJOR and this is JUST WRONG in so many ways! RIP Reggie your smile and kindness will always be remember and WE LOVE YOU!!

[u know]

How many of you people would like to fight with a crazy drugged out Reggie Douchet at 3:30 in the morning?

Yeah, me neither.

Let's just all sit in the comforts of our homes and monday morning quarter back the cops instead.

It's terribly unfair that we don't have Douchet's six grade school picture poster so we can feel more outraged.

[TruBlu]

Wow.. all these comments by some monday night quarterbackers.. a naked man running around at 0330 in the morning.. sounds like a little PCP on board. A cop is not going to take someones life if they are not in fear of their own.. how do you know mr. good citizen didn't try to take the officer's weapons..please. i'm glad the officer's made it home safely. all you cop haters, why don't you try the job.. wait, half of you are probably felons..

[Brian Michaels]

If anyone knows the murder victim or his family have them contact my office. I would like nothing more than to bring the murderers to justice.

Brian Michaels, Esq.
310-991-9179

[meggafish]

It is time for the press to investigate the portion of police on the force that have been deployed in a war zone. Too many needless police shootings over nothing
indicate something is seriously amiss. If you're a combat vet you should not be hired to patrol our city with a weapon. They are trained to kill, not protect and serve and kill they do