Block Defends 2 Deputies in Fatal Shooting : Law enforcement: Sheriff says officers were justified in firing at crutch-wielding man who yelled, ‘Kill me or I’ll kill you!’

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block staunchly defended the actions of two of his deputies Wednesday in the shooting death of a Montrose man who was gunned down after he threatened the deputies with a broken metal crutch.

Deputies Greg J. Gabriel, 38, and Paul P. Dino, 37, shot Aaron Cease to death Dec. 18 after he thrust a jagged-edged crutch at them like a bayonet and shouted, “Kill me or I’ll kill you!” Block told reporters Wednesday at his monthly news conference.

Block’s detailed defense of the shooting was unusual because it came before a department investigation of the incident had been completed. He said he was making his comments out of concern for the reputation of the two deputies. He defended their decision not to use batons or pepper spray against Cease, saying they were already holding their flashlights and guns and that the crutch was longer than a baton.

Block said the deputies fired on the 30-year-old Cease only after he repeatedly ignored their orders to drop the crutch and continued to jog toward them.

Relatives have criticized the shooting, saying that Cease suffered from major depression but had never been violent.

“It’s what I expected from them--to whitewash it any way they could,” Cease’s mother, Doreen Cease, said of Block’s comments. “Aaron is described by everybody who knew him as a gentle person. It shouldn’t have happened.”

Block, however, portrayed Cease as a man with “a record of violence” who was arrested in August for “viciously” assaulting his brother and who was committed for psychiatric observation last year. He also said Cease had quit taking psychoactive drugs that had been prescribed for him.

Toxicology reports show that Cease’s blood-alcohol level was 0.27% at the time of the shooting, more than triple the legal limit of 0.08%, authorities said.

“His mother told our investigators that when he drank he became very violent,” Block said. “Witnesses say that he left his house just about midnight that night carrying a liter bottle of wine, which he either dropped or threw down into the street.”

The sheriff said investigators have so far interviewed 10 independent witnesses who have corroborated the deputies’ account of the shooting.

The incident began when deputies received a call that a man was hitting cars and chasing pedestrians with some sort of object, Block said. A deputy arrived in the 2500 block of Montrose Avenue after midnight and ordered Cease to drop the crutch. He refused and began swinging it at the deputy.

At that point, the bottom half of the crutch flew off, exposing a jagged edge, Block said. A second deputy arrived and Cease began moving toward both of them, shouting threats.

The deputies retreated about 120 feet, continuing to demand that Cease drop the crutch, Block said. After Cease failed to comply, each deputy fired two rounds and when Cease continued toward them, they fired another two rounds and then more shots until he finally dropped.

Block described Gabriel and Dino, both nine-year veterans, as experienced deputies who were recently commended for defusing an unrelated situation without the use of deadly force. Describing deputies’ decisions not to use batons or pepper spray, Block said: “They were going backward and somebody is jogging toward you. If they had fallen, what they envisioned was this (jagged crutch) would have come right into their faces. He got within six to 10 feet of them before they fired the first shot.”

Block also stated that Cease was “not using the crutch because he needed it for walking.”

“I think it’s important to recognize that this individual was not an invalid,” he said.

Block’s statement was in sharp contrast to reports by relatives that Cease used the crutch for a weak ankle he had broken earlier this year.

The killing of Cease has come under fire from relatives and the man who originally called authorities, who say it was unnecessary for officers to resort to deadly force to control Cease. The family is threatening to sue.

The Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office are investigating the shooting, which is standard practice in fatal shootings by law enforcement officers.

The two deputies were reassigned to desk duty for five days after the shooting, which is also standard procedure. They have since returned to their regular shifts, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.

“We’re not surprised that the sheriff has exonerated the deputies involved in this shooting,” said David Lynn, a board member of Police Watch, a police misconduct and lawyer referral service. “When has there ever been a case that he has found that the deputies were not justified in shooting?”