D.A. Won’t Prosecute 3 in Fatal Police Shooting
The Los Angeles district attorney’s office announced Wednesday that it will not prosecute any of the three Torrance police officers involved in a shooting last year at the Del Amo Fashion Center.
In the shooting, which took place Sept. 9, theft suspect Bryant John Leadbeater, 32, of Redondo Beach was killed in the mall parking lot after lunging at Torrance Police Officer John Maley, according to police. Maley and Officers Henry Fricke and Mark Hein opened fire with their .45-caliber automatic pistols, shooting Leadbeater 24 times.
The district attorney’s office said the officers acted in lawful self-defense or in the defense of another. Joan Leadbeater, mother of the slain man, is suing the city and the three officers for $10.5 million, alleging that her son’s death was caused wrongfully.
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