Police Officer Pleads Innocent in Shootings
A Compton police officer pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of voluntary manslaughter stemming from the deaths last February of two Samoan-American brothers who were shot 19 times. Officer Alfred Frederick Skiles Jr., 44, answered questions during his brief arraignment before Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Candace Beason. He remained free on a $30,000 bond that Beason imposed 11 days ago, when the charges were filed against him.
The officer, a 12-year veteran, is accused of unjustifiably firing a barrage of shots at Pouvi Tualaulelei, 34, and Itali Tualaulelei, 22, after he went to their home on a domestic dispute call. Skiles maintains that the brothers attacked him.
A coroner’s report shows that one of the brothers was shot a dozen times, eight times in the back. The other was shot eight times, three times in the back. The report also indicates that some of the shots were fired after the men had fallen to the ground.
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