Thought Man, 80, Nearly Subdued : Officer’s Shot Came as a Surprise, Witness Says

A witness in the police shooting of an 80-year-old knife-wielding man in Sepulveda said Wednesday he thought three police officers were about to subdue the man when a fourth fired the shot that felled him.

Police said the victim, Hanna H. Attalla, remained in serious condition Wednesday at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills. He was in front of his apartment door Tuesday afternoon when he was shot in the abdomen by a single bullet that passed through him.

Withdrawn From Field Duty

Police said that when Attalla is released from the hospital, they will ask the district attorney’s office to file charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer against him.

Lt. Charles Higbie, who investigates all officer-involved shootings, said Officer Terri I. Reitz, 31, who shot Attalla, will be withdrawn from field duty during his investigation.

Police were called to the apartment after Attalla allegedly used a hammer to smash the headlights of his apartment manager’s car. They said he was holding the knife when they arrived.

In a preliminary report on the shooting, Higbie said the four officers walked from the apartment courtyard up two separate staircases to reach the balcony where Attalla stood. They were on the balcony when he lunged at one of them, the report said.

Higbie said Officer Curtis Edmonds, 41, approaching from the east, tried to use his baton to disarm Attalla but failed.

Then from the west, Officer Rolland Cannon, 34, fired at the man with a taser gun, which shoots darts that can discharge an electric current. However, Attalla’s clothing deflected the darts, Higbie said.

1 Round Fired

Higbie said Cannon then turned away from Attalla to “redeploy” and the man pursued him.

“When Attalla came to within several feet of Officer Cannon’s back, with the knife raised above his head, Officer Reitz believed the suspect was going to stab the officer,” Higbie’s report said. “She drew her service revolver and fired one round, wounding Attalla who fell to the balcony floor.”

However, a resident of the apartment building at 8505 Cedros Ave. said he was surprised when he saw Reitz draw her revolver and shoot because he thought the other officers were moving to subdue Attalla. The witness said he thought the other officers were surprised by the shooting, too.

“None of the other officers pulled their guns,” he said. “I saw her with the gun and when it went off, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Although the witness contended he did not believe any of the officers were in danger, he admitted that his view was partially obscured and he could not see Attalla when the shot was fired.

The witness spoke to The Times on the condition that his name not be used.

Watched From Door

He said he watched the incident unfold from his front door, which is also on the second-floor balcony about 30 feet from where Attalla stood.

During the entire confrontation, the man said, Attalla, who is from the Middle East and speaks little or no English, talked to himself continually but did not respond to the officers’ repeated requests to drop the butcher knife he held.

The witness said that when the officers were still in the courtyard, looking up at Attalla, one of the male officers took out his gun and pointed it at the man but quickly re-holstered the weapon.

“It wasn’t even out five seconds. He didn’t even have his fingers on the trigger,” the man said.

The man, who was interviewed by police after the shooting, said he told them he thought the officers had done everything possible to control Attalla without force.

But he said he did not think it was necessary to shoot Attalla.

Request Refused

Police said the confrontation began Tuesday afternoon after the apartment manager, Joe Kovari, refused to let Attalla nail a crucifix to the outside of his door.

Attalla then appeared in the courtyard with a hammer and a knife and broke out the headlights on Kovari’s car, police said. He returned the hammer to his room and was on the balcony with the knife when police arrived, police said.