Los Angeles officers fatally shoot man who threw bottle at patrol car

Los Angeles police officers fatally shot a man Saturday night in Van Nuys after he threw a beer bottle at their patrol car, shattering the window and causing the officers to think they were being fired upon, LAPD officials said Monday.

No weapon was recovered from the man at the scene, police said.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said the uniformed officers were sitting at a red light when a man approached their patrol car from behind and threw what investigators believe was a 40-ounce beer bottle through the car’s back window.

The man threw the bottle “with such force that the officers believed they were being fired upon,” Beck said. The officers then shot the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Beck stressed that the investigation into the shooting was in its early stages. Like all LAPD shootings that result in an injury or death, the shooting will also be reviewed by the district attorney’s office, Police Commission and its inspector general.

“The primary thing to look at here is: Were the officers’ perceptions reasonable?” Beck said. “Not were they correct, but were they reasonable?”

Police officers are authorized to use deadly force to protect themselves or others if they reasonably believe they are in danger of death or serious injury. As in all LAPD shootings, the Police Commission will judge the officers involved based on three issues: the officers’ use of deadly force, their decision to draw their weapons and the tactics used throughout the encounter.

A coroner’s spokesman said the man was in his 40s but did not reveal his name Monday because his family had not yet been notified of his death.

Neither of the officers, who were assigned to the LAPD’s Van Nuys division, was injured in the incident. They were removed from the field following the shooting, which occurred near Sepulveda and Victory boulevards.

The man was the 32nd person shot by LAPD officers this year. Eighteen were killed.

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