Panel Rules LAPD Officer Acted Properly in Slaying of Colleague

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday found that the actions of an undercover officer who fatally shot an off-duty colleague during a traffic dispute were “in policy.”

Concurring on a 3-0 vote with Chief Bernard C. Parks’ conclusions, the commissioners determined in closed session that Det. Frank J. Lyga had reason to fear for his life when he shot Officer Kevin L. Gaines on March 18 in Studio City.

“Det. Lyga’s tactics were appropriate,” according to Parks’ six-page report, noting that Lyga tried to avoid a confrontation with Gaines.

According to a summary of the shooting investigation, Lyga was finishing up an undercover narcotics investigation and driving back to meet with other officers when he noticed Gaines in another vehicle looking at him.

“In the belief that Gaines possibly needed directions, Det. Lyga rolled his window down and asked Gaines if he could help him,” the chief’s report states. “Gaines responded by screaming in a hostile tone, using obscene language as he threatened to beat and shoot Det. Lyga.”

Lyga, who was unaware at the time that Gaines was an LAPD officer, told Gaines that he would pull over to the side of the road. As Gaines pulled over, Lyga drove away in an attempt to avoid a confrontation, the report says.

Driving “erratically through heavy traffic,” Gaines tried to catch Lyga, the report says. At that point, Lyga radioed to his partners for help, saying that he was being followed by a man who was “acting crazy and possibly had a gun.”

When Gaines caught Lyga, the report states, he “appeared to be in a rage and he again yelled at the detective, ‘I’ll cap you [expletive].’ ” Gaines then pointed a 9-millimeter handgun at Lyga.

“In belief that he was about to be shot, Det. Lyga raised his firearm and fired two rounds at Gaines,” the chief’s report says.

Gaines pulled into a mini-mart parking lot. Officers coming to Lyga’s assistance pulled Gaines out of the car and put him in a “prone position on the ground and handcuffed” him, the report states. Gaines, who was shot once in the right side, was taken to a hospital, where he died a short time later.

The shooting stunned the LAPD and raised questions among some minority officers about whether the shooting had racial undertones because Lyga is white and Gaines was black. Both officers, according to documents and sources, had been the subject of complaints earlier in their careers.

After the shooting, Gaines’ relatives sued Lyga and the city of Los Angeles, alleging that “Lyga’s use of deadly force under these circumstances was excessive, unlawful, malicious [and] oppressive.”

Attorney Carl E. Douglas, who is representing Gaines’ family, could not be reached for comment.

Lyga also could not be reached for comment Tuesday.