Officers Are Cleared in Peco Slaying

The officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man at the Imperial Courts housing project last year--a killing that prompted intense protests from some tenants about police harassment--fired in self-defense and will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County district attorney has concluded.

In a letter to the Los Angeles Police Commission, the district attorney said Henry Peco, 27, “initiated gunplay by firing an assault rifle at the officers, thus precipitating their response with deadly force.”

The district attorney’s office investigates all officer-involved fatalities to determine whether criminal charges against the officers are warranted.

The four-page report agreed with prior police accounts of the Nov. 29 shooting and gave “great weight” to court admissions by two bystanders who said they saw Peco fire first at the officers. The two men have been convicted in connection with the confrontation with police.

Police had responded to reports of gunfire at the project during a power outage when, they said, they were confronted by Peco, who raised an assault rifle and began firing at them. Peco, whose family lives in the Watts housing project and was well known among many tenants, was struck by five police bullets, one between the eyes.

Sgt. J.D. Allen fired 12 rounds. Officer Kathy Simpson fired three times. Officers William Smith and Matthew Graves fired 16 and 12 times, respectively, the report said. “Clearly when an individual shoots an assault rifle at police officers, the officers may reasonably fear for their lives and return fire,” the report said.

The shooting touched off a high-profile campaign by some tenants who complained that it and a subsequent police sweep of the project typified ongoing harassment and disrespectful treatment by police. Some formed the Henry Peco Justice Committee, held several rallies at the project and aired their complaints before the Police Commission, which ordered a police review of their allegations.

Several of Peco’s relatives had contended that he was unarmed at the time and was shot without provocation. In the aftermath of the shooting, tensions between police and tenants became so strained that a federal mediator was dispatched to defuse animosities.

Leaders of the Justice Committee could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Peco’s mother, Loretha Peco, an Imperial Court tenant, said Tuesday that she was not aware of the report and declined to comment.

Capt. David Gascon, who was commanding officer of the Southeast area at the time of the shooting, said the conclusion by the district attorney is “the proper decision based on the facts that we indicated right from the beginning.”

The local FBI office conducted a preliminary investigation into whether police violated Peco’s civil rights. Their report was forwarded in March to the civil rights unit of the U.S. Justice Department, which has not yet determined whether to prosecute, an FBI spokesman said Tuesday.