Officers Kill Man After He Reports His Robbery Plan : Shooting: Garden Grove police say victim had called them, then pointed pellet gun in confrontation outside a doughnut shop. Witness says officers first tried to negotiate.

Tyler Lee Boyles called the police to say he was planning an armed robbery and wanted officers to come shoot him.

Less than half an hour later, the 20-year-old who loved comic books and roses got what he asked for: He was dead outside a doughnut shop, his body peppered with police bullets.

Garden Grove police said officers tried talking to Boyles, and opened fired when he pointed a pellet gun at them Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, 11 bullet holes marred the window of the doughnut shop and chalk circles marked more than 20 shell casings nearby.

Boyles’ girlfriend said police might have been able to help Boyles, who she said was struggling with schizophrenia, trying to hold down a job and spending his nights sleeping in a nearby school yard. Boyles kept the pellet gun handy for protection, she said.

“He was asking for help. When he said, ‘I want you guys to shoot me,’ they should have known right there he needed help,” said Honey Rose Seca, 17, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t think they should have shot him so many times. If they shot him once I know he would have stopped.”

Garden Grove Police declined to say how many shots were fired and referred inquiries to the Orange County district attorney’s office, which investigates all officer-involved shootings.

Christopher Evans, supervising district attorney of the homicide unit, said the investigation was under way Wednesday and could take up to two months.

Just hours before Boyles called police Tuesday night, he described a scene from the movie “Falling Down” to his girlfriend. In the scene, actor Michael Douglas provokes an officer to kill him by pointing a squirt gun at the officer and pretending it is real, Seca said.

“He said, ‘Wouldn’t that be a nice way to die?’ ” said Seca, who had been dating Boyles since October. “I told him everybody would remember him and I laughed it off. I thought he was just kidding.”

Boyles’ call to police came at 11:02 p.m. from a pay phone outside a doughnut shop in the 13400 block of Brookhurst Street.

“He said he was going to commit a robbery and was armed with a handgun,” Garden Grove Lt. John Woods said. “He also said he wanted officers to shoot him.”

Woods said that when officers arrived, they talked to Boyles for several minutes. Boyles then raised his gun and pointed it toward them, prompting officers to fire, Woods said.