LAPD Officer, Gunman Killed in Shootout

A Los Angeles police officer was fatally wounded Sunday during an exchange of gunfire with a suspected thief, who was then shot to death by the fallen officer’s partner, a police spokesman said.

The incident, which occurred about 5 p.m. in the 1000 block of South Fairfax Avenue, was the first in two years in which an LAPD officer has been shot to death in the line of duty.

The 27-year-old patrolman, who was married and the father of two children, underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but died on the operating table, said Cmdr. Tim McBride, an LAPD spokesman.

McBride said the slain officer and his partner, who were working out of the department’s Wilshire Division, were pursuing a suspected thief when he opened fire on them in an alley near Whitworth Drive and South Fairfax Avenue. The other officer returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police Chief Willie L. Williams arrived at the scene shortly after the shootings.

“There are a lot of young officers, and they are pretty shook up about this,” said Williams.

Seven officers have been killed since Williams became chief four years ago. “It does not get any easier,” he said.

The names of the officer and the suspect were not released Sunday night, pending notification of their families. By late Sunday night, police had notified the slain officer’s wife, but were still trying to contact his mother, who lives in Mexico.

The officer had been on the force for about one year. He was the father of a 4-year-old and of a newborn infant.

After inspecting the crime scene, Williams went to the hospital to help arrange for department representatives to fly by helicopter to the home of the slain officer’s wife.

McBride said the dead patrolman and his partner pulled into a 7-Eleven store in the 1000 block of South Fairfax Avenue to investigate a theft. The clerk, who flagged down the police car, reportedly told the officers that one person had stolen two six-packs of beer from the store.

McBride said the officers left the parking lot and turned into an alley where the suspect was walking. The unlighted alley is bordered by apartments and houses.

After driving about 100 feet, the officers spotted the suspect carrying a carton of beer under each arm. As the officers approached in their car, McBride said, the suspect turned around and started walking toward them, while shifting his load of beer to one arm.

The officers warned him to take his hand out of his pocket, McBride said, but the young man pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and started firing “without warning and without explanation”

The officer on the passenger side was hit at least twice in the abdomen as he got out of the car and tried to shoot back, McBride said. The other patrolman returned fire after taking cover behind the police car, he said.

City Council member Nate Holden joined Williams at the scene, which is in a neighborhood known as Little Ethiopia because of its numerous Ethiopian shops and restaurants.

“These calls, while they may seem minor or routine, can be the most dangerous,” Williams said. “All that probably would have happened to the suspect is a fine. He probably would not even have gone to jail. The holiday season unfortunately will remind the [slain officer’s] family [of the tragedy] every year.”

Police described the gunman as a 17-year-old gang member with a criminal record. They said he was staying with friends in the area.

Sunday’s incident was the second shooting of a Los Angeles police officer in two weeks. Rookie Officer Jay Cicinelli, 24, was shot five times during a traffic stop earlier this month. Cicinelli was wounded in the face and may lose his left eye, said LAPD Lt. Anthony Alba.

Cicinelli was in good condition Sunday at St. Francis Medical Center.