The Region - News from May 7, 1987

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant shot and fatally wounded a man who pointed a gun at him, authorities said. Sgt. Robert McPherson and a sheriff’s lieutenant were responding to a report of shots fired in the 400 block of West Gardena Boulevard when they pulled up beside a car that had crashed into a telephone pole, Deputy David Tellez said. McPherson, a 23-year veteran, got out of his patrol car, noticed a man slumped behind the steering wheel of the car and saw a shotgun leaning against the dashboard, Tellez said. The man allegedly reached for the weapon and pointed it at McPherson, Tellez said. When the man ignored McPherson’s repeated orders to drop the shotgun, the sergeant fired several shots from his service revolver, fatally wounding the man, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives.