Officer May Have Run Into Line of Gunfire

Los Angeles Police Officer George A. Rose, hospitalized on life support Monday after a fellow officer accidentally shot him in the head, may inadvertently have run into the line of fire while trying to assist his colleagues, police said.

Rose, 30, was shot once in the parking lot of the Southwest Division station Saturday afternoon as officers opened fire on a man allegedly shooting at his estranged wife in front of the station’s main entrance.

Those officers, Sgt. Jon Reese and Officer Thomas Murrell, were standing behind Rose and probably did not see him as he ran from the station’s rear door into their line of fire, said Lt. William Hall of the department’s officer-involved shooting team.

“Both of them were concentrating on (the suspect) because he’s the one who had the gun,” Hall said. “I don’t believe Rose was in either of their lines of fire when they began shooting. It was only Rose’s attempt to take action that caused him to be there.”

Police officials said they were reviewing the incident, but did not foresee taking disciplinary action or changing policy.

“I don’t know what other options Reese and Murrell had,” Hall said. “If they don’t shoot, maybe the wife is dead in front of the station. Then who erred? Darned if you do, darned if you don’t.”

Reese, 41, an 18-year veteran, fired 10 rounds from his 9-millimeter pistol, Hall said. Murrell, 28, a seven-year veteran, fired once. The bullet that struck Rose exited his head and has not been recovered. The suspect, who authorities said did not fire in the officers’ direction, was not injured.

“Not having the slug . . . makes it more difficult to say who hit the officer,” Hall said. “I suppose if you did just simple odds, it would be the sergeant because he fired more rounds. But we’re not ready to make that call. There’s nothing I’d rather do than to say for sure which it was--at least one of them would feel a whole lot better.”

The suspect, Ray Phillips, 56, allegedly fired six shots at his wife, Antoinette Goodie, 41, as a friend dropped her off outside the station on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard shortly before 3 p.m. A neighbor of Goodie’s said the woman, who was not injured, had thrown Phillips out of their Mid-City home after he refused to buy Christmas presents for her three teen-age children.

Police, who were changing shifts in the station’s parking lot just south of the street, witnessed the attack and began firing at Phillips. The suspect, who was wearing a blue security guard uniform, fled in his car but was chased and booked on suspicion of attempted murder. A .38-caliber handgun was found in his car, officers said.

Prosecutors said Phillips probably would be arraigned today for the attack on Goodie, although they were debating whether to also charge him with attempted murder for creating the circumstances that led to Rose’s wounding, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney.

Rose, who joined the department 2 1/2 years ago, underwent three hours of surgery Saturday and remained in extremely critical condition Monday, breathing with the help of a respirator in the intensive care unit of County-USC Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda.

At the Southwest Division station--where a sign in the lobby says “Service with Compassion and Integrity”--police have received dozens of telephone calls from officers, concerned citizens and church groups, all expressing their sympathy for Rose and his family.

“People that don’t even know him,” said the desk officer. “It’s nice to see.”