Drug Suspect, Officer Both Hit in Shootout

A Los Angeles police officer remained in stable condition Thursday, a day after he was shot by a man who drew a gun as the officer tried to handcuff him, authorities said.

The alleged gunman was also critically wounded in an ensuing shootout, in which the wounded officer managed to draw and fire as the suspect fled, police said.

The officer, whose name was not released, is a six-year member of the force. Police said he is at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and is expected to recover.

As many as four bullets struck the officer, LAPD Sgt. John Pasquariello said.

The alleged gunman, identified as Leulliniou Misailegalu, 41, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and was at an unspecified local hospital, Pasquariello said.

Misailegalu was struck by a bullet that entered his torso but missed his vital organs. A parolee, Misailegalu is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, Pasquariello said.

Pasquariello gave the following account of the shooting:

At 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the officer and his partner tried to detain four men they suspected of having made a drug deal near an alley at the intersection of Marine Avenue and F Street in Wilmington.

Ordered to stop, the suspects were standing in the open when the officer approached to search and handcuff Misailegalu, standing to the right of the group. The officer’s partner stood guard without her weapon drawn. Officers are directed not to draw their weapons when suspects are not known to be armed, Pasquariello said.

As the first officer reached to grab Misailegalu, the 6-foot, 260-pound suspect allegedly pulled a gun and began firing.

Wounded in the limbs and above and alongside his bulletproof vest, the officer backed away, managing to pull his gun and fire several rounds. “The vest probably saved him from death,” Pasquariello said.

The officer’s partner also began firing. As Misailegalu ran away he was hit, but it was unclear which of the officers shot him, Pasquariello said.

As bullets flew, the three other suspects hit the ground. They were arrested by backup officers.

Initially detained as suspects in a drug crime, the three men gave witness statements to the shooting, and were later released for lack of evidence. The wounded officer’s partner was unhurt.

LAPD SWAT team members and tracking dogs searched the area, a mix of apartment buildings, homes and industrial properties.

Residents stood outside their doors and watched as dozens of officers swept in and around the five-block perimeter surrounding the scene. A helicopter with a searchlight circled above.

Several hours later, after fanning out through junkyards and container-storage yards, SWAT team members found a bleeding Misailegalu hiding close by in an alley near the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and F Street. They seized a gun from him, Pasquariello said.

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Times staff photographer Bob Chamberlain contributed to this report.