Police Probing Use of Force in Man’s Death

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division is investigating witnesses claims that officers used excessive force in subduing a suspected PCP user Friday morning outside Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, police spokesman Lt. Dan Cooke said.

Stewart Vigil, 29, died at the hospital after he was shot with three police Taser electronic dart guns and then tackled by officers.

The incident began just before dawn when police were notified that a man was wandering in traffic at Western Avenue and Carson Street. Patrol Officers Randall Childs and Edward Trujillo reported that they found Vigil standing in the middle of traffic, talking incoherently.

They transported Vigil to the hospital for observation, but he began to struggle in the parking lot outside, Cooke said, so the officers called for a backup unit.

Vigil exhibited the uncommon strength and agility characteristic of those who use PCP, according to Cooke.

A dozen officers arrived at the hospital but could not control Vigil, Cooke said, even after he was shot simultaneously with three of the Taser guns. Several of the officers then swarmed Vigil and knocked him to the ground, inflicting a head injury, Cooke said.

Vigil was taken to the emergency room and died just before 7 a.m., Cooke said. The cause of death has not been determined.

Detectives from the Internal Affairs Division were called into the case after witnesses reported that police used excessive force, Cooke said.