New Grand Jury Probe Sought on Shootings

Attorneys for the families of four people killed by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in a one-month period last summer demanded Thursday that a new grand jury be impaneled to investigate the shootings.

Miguel F. Garcia, attorney for the family of David Angel Ortiz, a 15-year-old car theft suspect who was shot in the back, ankle and back of the neck during an Aug. 28 pursuit, pointed to a state law that allows new grand juries to be impaneled if there is “good cause” to believe that the existing panel was unable to render a fair decision.

The grand jury announced last week it had found insufficient evidence to indict any deputies. Sheriff Sherman Block, who said the incidents are still being investigated internally, said he did not know if a new grand jury examination was needed.

The other incidents involved Steve Clemons, a 28-year-old purported gang member who allegedly pointed a gun at deputies before he was shot; Arturo (Smokey) Jimenez, 19, who was killed after allegedly striking a deputy with a flashlight at the Ramona Gardens housing project, and Keith Hamilton, 33, of Ladera Heights, who was reportedly zapped by a stun gun, then shot eight times in the back and once in the top of the shoulder while apparently lying face down on the ground.