Grand Jury to Investigate Shootings : Law enforcement: Panel will examine four recent killings by sheriff’s deputies. Critics of the department praise district attorney for requesting inquiry.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner announced Thursday that the Los Angeles County Grand Jury will investigate the deaths of four people shot in recent weeks by sheriff’s deputies.

Reiner stopped short of saying whether he would ask for indictments against any of the deputies involved. But his decision to call on the grand jury was praised by law enforcement critics, who have charged that Reiner might be biased in favor of the Sheriff’s Department.

The district attorney approached the panel after the Board of Supervisors called for a grand jury probe similar to the one conducted after the Rodney G. King beating. That investigation resulted in the filing of felony indictments against four Los Angeles police officers.

“If there has been criminal wrongdoing by any of the deputies involved in these shootings, then justice requires that they be held accountable under the law,” Reiner said. “It is also every bit as important that we do not--in the passion of the moment--wrongly condemn any officer whose conduct was not criminal.”

Normally, officer-involved shootings are handled by Reiner’s Special Investigations Division, which has been looking into the four cases for several weeks.

But the recent shootings, which occurred within a one-month span, have proven especially controversial, fueling a wave of criticism against local law enforcement agencies that began with the King incident in March.

Moreover, Reiner has been accused by lawyers for the victims’ families of being biased in favor of law enforcement, a charge his office has vigorously denied.

He did not elaborate on his reasons for going to the grand jury, and refused to answer questions, citing the secret nature of grand jury hearings.

Victims’ relatives, their attorneys and civic leaders hailed Reiner’s decision to ask the grand jury to look into the four cases.

“I think it’s a wise decision and entirely appropriate, given the egregious nature of the facts,” said attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., whose law firm is representing the families of two victims. “I like the fact that they (law enforcement) are not investigating themselves.”

Supervisor Gloria Molina said: “It’s exactly what has to happen. (The grand jury) is the most effective body to provide an unbiased review of the shootings.”

The parents of 15-year-old David Ortiz, shot last month in Artesia, also praised the decision, but recommended that the grand jury hear not only from prosecutors, but also from them and witnesses called by their attorneys.

Officials at the district attorney’s office refused to comment on the Ortiz family’s suggestions, but noted that, in general, it is unusual for the grand jury to hear from witnesses other than those called by the prosecutors.

In criminal cases presented to the 23-member citizens’ panel, the district attorney controls the proceedings, deciding the witnesses to call and evidence to present.

The grand jury, which is expected to begin hearing evidence next week, will investigate the Aug. 3 death of Arturo Jimenez, 19, in the Ramona Gardens housing project; the Aug. 13 shooting of Keith Hamilton, a 33-year-old mentally disturbed man; the Aug. 28 death of Ortiz, and the Labor Day shooting of Steve Clemons, 28, in Willowbrook Park.

Witnesses in the closed-door proceedings are expected to number in the dozens. Lawyers for the victims’ families expect the hearings to take a month or more.

Supervisors called this week for the grand jury to get involved in the four cases after autopsy reports revealed that Hamilton, a former mental patient, had been shot nine times in the back and upper body, and that several of the bullets apparently struck him as he lay face-down on the pavement.

The original reports filed by deputies involved in the shooting did not mention that Hamilton was shot while lying face-down. Witnesses to the other three shootings also disputed deputies’ accounts.

Controversial Shootings Dist . Att y. Ira Reiner announced Thursday that the Los Angeles County Grand Jury will investigate four recent fatal shootings by sheriff’s deputies. Here is a look at the incidents: SHOOTING NO. 1: Arturo Jimenez, 19

DATE: Aug. 3

BACKGROUND: Sheriff’s officials say deputies’ vehicle was struck with a beer bottle after they chased a speeding car into a housing project. As deputies investigated, Jimenez, a gang member, assaulted one with a beer bottle, took his flashlight, swung it and knocked deputy unconscious, according to authorities. Deputy shot Jimenez in the chest three times. Residents say Jimenez argued with deputies but never struck anyone.

SHERIFF’S DEPUTY: Jason Mann, 28

LOCATION: Ramona Gardens housing project, Lincoln Heights.

SHOOTING NO. 2: Keith Hamilton, 33

DATE: Aug. 13

BACKGROUND: Sheriff’s officials say deputies responding to a disturbance call first shot Hamilton twice with an electric stun gun. When a fight ensued, two deputies shot him eight times in the back and once in the top of his shoulder while he apparently lay face-down. Although sheriff’s officials first said that Hamilton reached for a knife on his belt, they later announced that the mentally disturbed man never threatened the deputies with the knife.

SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES: Kelly Enos, 26, and Paul McCready, 27.

LOCATION: 5300 block of West Slauson Ave., Ladera Heights.

SHOOTING NO. 3: David Angel Ortiz, 15

DATE: Aug. 28

BACKGROUND: Sheriff’s officials say teen-agers were driving a stolen car in a high-speed chase, and that Ortiz tried to flee after the car hit a curb and stopped. Ortiz was shot in the lower back, the ankle and the back of the neck. One witness, the mother of a youth in the car, said Ortiz obeyed deputies’ commands to halt and was shot without provocation.

SHERIFF’S DEPUTY: Jose Belmares, 29

LOCATION: 168th Street and Clarkdale Avenue, Artesia

SHOOTING NO. 4: Steve Clemons, 28

DATE: Sept. 2

BACKGROUND: Sheriff’s officials say Clemons, who was being pursued as a suspect in a possible gang disturbance at a park, turned and pointed a gun at one of the deputies as he simultaneously threw the gun into the lake. A loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol was recovered from the lake, but bystanders who witnessed the shooting said Clemons was unarmed and fleeing from deputies with a beer can in his hand when he was shot in the back of the neck.

SHERIFF’S DEPUTY: Michael Staley, 37

LOCATION: Willowbrook Park, 905 El Segundo Blvd., Los Angeles

Compiled by Times researcher Cecilia Rasmussen

Times staff writer John Kendall contributed to this story.