Valley Struck by Rash of Police Shootings

LAPD officers shot two men in the San Fernando Valley on Monday, bringing to four the number of suspects shot by police in unrelated incidents in less than 48 hours. Three were killed and one wounded. Two of the four were paroled prisoners who faced “third-strike” imprisonment if convicted again, police said.

Two were killed in remarkably similar incidents--by officers who said they were trying to arrest suspects in cars. The suspects then tried to drive off, dragging the officers along.

One suspect was killed Monday and another wounded.

The wounded man, shot in a gun battle with police in North Hollywood, was later wrestled to the ground and captured by two civilian passersby--praised by police and witnesses as heroes--apparently as he tried to take a hostage to use as a shield, police said.

An LAPD spokesman, Lt. Tony Alba, said statistics were unavailable Monday on the number of police shootings in the San Fernando Valley this year, and how the rash of shootings compares with the norm.

The most recent shooting occurred in an alley near the 7300 block of Canoga Avenue in West Hills about 5 p.m. Monday, when a bicycle officer killed a suspect who was trying to drive off with the officer halfway lodged in the getaway car, Alba said.

“The officer became attached [to the moving car] and was dragged for about 40 yards,” Alba said. The car’s occupants were apparently searching for guns, and “in fear for his safety, he shot the driver,” Alba said.

Police said there were two other young men in the car and another had tried to escape. They were not injured and were arrested, Alba said.

The officer suffered minor cuts and was treated at a local hospital, police said. Alba said no weapons were immediately found in the car or on the suspects and it was too soon to know whether the officer might have reacted too quickly in firing.

Earlier Monday in North Hollywood, a 35-year-old parolee shot in a gunfight with police managed to flee to a nearby business where he briefly held a man hostage before being captured by the passers-by, authorities said.

The incident began when police were called to a domestic disturbance in the 5600 block of Klump Avenue. As they arrived, a man identified later as Myron Bowers opened fire on their patrol car with a .38-caliber revolver, police said.

LAPD Officer Raymond Valois, 38, a five-year employee of the department, suffered minor injuries from shattered glass fragments. A bullet passed through his jacket but did not strike his body, police said. Valois’ partner, Officer Clemente Toscano, 24, shot Bowers in the right shoulder, police said.

Bowers then ran to the parking lot of Bouchard Communications on Burbank Boulevard, where he held his gun to the neck of employee Tom Alleeson, 48, officers said.

“He was yelling at me to shut up,” said Alleeson, the father of four daughters. “I just kept watching him closely.”

As soon as Bowers averted his gaze, Alleeson said he pulled Bowers’ arm down and the two men wrestled to the ground. Co-worker Ken Ausmus then grabbed Bowers in a headlock. A motorist who was watching from his car across the street--who would give his name only as “Dino”--ran over and grabbed Bowers’ legs, said witnesses and police.

“I didn’t even think twice,” Ausmus said. “I saw this guy had my supervisor down on the ground. I jumped on the guy . . . It was something I had to do.”

Dino said he originally planned to “wait for the guy and maybe chase him in my car for the police. . . . But I saw Tom on the ground and I thought I’d better help. I figured the more the better.”

Alleeson, a supervisor at Bouchard, a cable and telephone line construction company, said later that he offered Dino a job on the spot.

“He’s a great guy,” Alleeson said. “I think more people should participate--instead of looking the other way.”

“When that guy grabbed Tom, he didn’t know whether there were bullets in that gun or not,” said Tony Marquez, the manager of the company. “He was definitely a hero.”

“I think they’re heroes,” Alba said. “It’s the old fight-or-flight instinct. They made the decision to do something and they just did it. I’m not telling people to wrestle guns out of people’s hands but how can you fault them for being so courageous.”

Bowers was being held in the Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and kidnapping, following treatment at North Hollywood Medical Center.

Bowers, who faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if convicted, was on parole for armed robbery and is under investigation for possible involvement in other robberies in North Hollywood and Burbank as well, police said.

In the West Hills shooting several hours later, police gave the following account:

Two officers working on bicycle patrol in an area known for drug dealing saw four young men acting suspiciously outside a liquor store. When they drove off, the officers followed on their bikes.

After traveling about a mile, the car pulled into the alley off Canoga Avenue. One young man got out and ran toward the door of a bar but was stopped by one of the officers.

At the same time, the other officer approached the car on the passenger side and ordered the driver to shut off the engine. As the driver accelerated away, the officer reacted by diving halfway into the car.

Alba said the officer apparently saw the three young men in the car searching for something in their clothes and fearing that they had guns, shot the driver. The car, which had traveled about 40 yards, crashed into an alley wall.

Meanwhile, police continued their investigations into the deaths of two men killed by police within two hours of each other Saturday night, which began the series of shootings.

William Thomas Betzner, 43, was shot and killed after he apparently raced up to 70 mph along Ventura Boulevard with an officer clinging to his car, police said.

Betzner, who was on parole for murder, would have faced life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under the three-strikes law, police said, adding that they are unsure whether that could have led him to be violent with officers.

“It’s hard to tell whether that [the three strikes law] was the reason or whether he was just prone to violence,” Alba said.

He was approached by police as he rummaged through a construction site near Ventura Boulevard and Calvin Avenue. While officers were questioning him, he took off and got inside his car. In an effort to stop him, Officer Gene Collelo got partly inside the car but police said Betzner drove away.

The officer, a two-year veteran of the Police Department, then shot Betzner, who died at the scene, police said.

Killed in a separate incident was James Jauirqui, 23, who police said tried to ram officers with his car in Northridge.

Jauirqui was being pursued by police who were responding to a call about a possible assault with a deadly weapon. Officers followed the car but called off the pursuit because of the number of pedestrians in the area.

An LAPD helicopter, however, continued tracking Jauirqui and when officers again located him, he tried to back into a police car and then head for a nearby group of officers, police said. Five of the officers opened fire, killing him.

Investigations of all officer-involved shootings are being handled by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

Times staff writer Jose Cardenas contributed to this story.