Family of Man Shot by Officer Lashes Out After Police Meeting

The family of an elderly man who was shot to death by police last week said after meeting with police officials Friday that the killing was the “coldblooded murder” of a decorated Korean War veteran.

“They killed him and laid him in the gutter like a dog,” said Gregory Joshua, son of Joe Joshua, 76, who was slain by police Saturday after allegedly threatening an officer with a knife.

Joe Joshua’s family acknowledged that the retired South-Central meat cutter suffered from psychological problems and often carried a hunting knife. But they insisted that he was not prone to violence.

“My father was not out to harm anyone,” said Gregory Joshua, a truck driver from Rancho Cucamonga. “I don’t understand why these officers had to murder my father.”

The family spoke out for the first time after joining about 15 community activists for a meeting at the 77th Street police station with Los Angeles Police Capt. Harlan Ward.

The officer who shot Joshua is assigned to that station.

Ward said he agreed to meet with the group to dispel rumors about the shooting and to assure the family and others that the shooting will be thoroughly investigated.

The investigation could take several months, he said.

“We don’t just take a shooting and say it was in policy,” Ward said. “We have to review it.”

According to police, Joshua confronted officers Saturday at Manchester and Vermont avenues, where police were investigating a possible bank robbery.

The officers later determined that nothing was amiss at the bank.

Police said Joshua rode to the scene on his bicycle and became belligerent when two officers told him to stay away from the area.

Joshua displayed a large knife under his shirt and threatened to kill the officers, police said. They said he removed the knife from his waistband and lunged at Officer Brian Preston, a five-year LAPD veteran, who responded by shooting Joshua, police said.

Joshua died at the scene.

The police version of the shooting did not appease Joshua’s family or community activists who met with Ward. They called for an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Commission and LAPD Inspector General Katherine Mader.

Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic HOPE, said some witnesses have said that Joshua was not a threat to police when he was shot.

“The community still wants some answers,” Ali said. “You cannot come into the community and shoot our elders.”

Ward said it is not uncommon for witnesses to have conflicting information.

“I don’t think you are going to ever see any type of incident where all the witnesses see things the same way,” Ward said.

Gregory Joshua said police have already told him that the shooting was justified, even though the investigation is still underway. He said he considers the shooting a “coldblooded murder.”

He said his father had raised five children in Gardena and lived on a pension in L.A.

Joe Joshua received three Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in the Korean War, his son said. Military officials could not immediately verify that account.

Gregory Joshua said his father carried a hunting knife for protection and because he was an avid hunter and fisherman.

Joe Joshua’s ex-wife, Ora Lewis, condemned the shooting, saying he posed no threat to police.

She said her former husband had recently been released from an institution where he was treated for psychological problems.

She declined to elaborate, except to say that he often talked to himself. She said he was taking medication for his condition.

“I just think it’s a terrible thing for him to be shot down,” she said, choking back tears. “A man of that age should not have been taken down this way.”