Fatal Police Gunfire Probed

Los Angeles authorities are investigating whether a Redondo Beach police officer accidentally killed a suspected car thief by mistaking a shotgun for a beanbag stun gun, law enforcement sources said Monday.

The 40-year-old man was shot to death after a high-speed pursuit through several South Bay cities late Sunday, police said. The pursuit, which began in Redondo Beach, came to a halt when the driver of a stolen sport-utility vehicle hit a curb just south of Los Angeles International Airport.

“At the termination of the pursuit, a police officer fired his weapon, striking the suspect,” said Redondo Beach Police Sgt. Phil Keenan. “The suspect was declared dead at the scene.”

No weapons were found on the man or inside the vehicle, Keenan said. The man’s name was being withheld Monday by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, pending the notification of his family.

Law enforcement sources said a preliminary investigation suggests the Redondo Beach officer may have discharged the wrong shotgun. Instead of grabbing a weapon loaded with a “less lethal” beanbag round, sources said, the officer fired a shotgun.

Redondo Beach police declined to say what the driver did to prompt the use of force.

Keenan said he could not comment on the beanbag weapons used by the department because the comment would relate to the investigation of the killing.

The shooting is being investigated by both the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division and the district attorney’s office. Robbery homicide detectives said they would not comment.

“We rolled on it, and it’s under investigation,” said the district attorney’s spokeswoman, Sandi Gibbons. A prosecutor and an investigator went to the scene of the shooting at Imperial Highway and Sepulveda Boulevard.

Redondo Beach police declined Monday to identify the officer who was involved in the shooting. Keenan said, in accordance with department policy, the officer was removed from active patrol and was undergoing counseling.

Maj. Steve Ijames of the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, an expert in less-than-lethal arms, said deadly mistakes are rare. Typically, he said, squad cars either carry two different weapons or a single shotgun that shoots both deadly rounds and beanbag projectiles. Departments that employ two guns usually identify them with painted stocks or other markers, Ijames said.

In 1995, a SWAT team deputy for Contra Costa County fired a shotgun round meant to blast through door locks and bolts instead of a beanbag round, killing a 42-year-old man.

Sunday night’s pursuit began when Redondo Beach police received a call at 6:50 p.m. about a reckless motorist driving north on Pacific Coast Highway in a 1992 Ford Bronco. The vehicle had been reported stolen in Los Angeles.

Officers spotted the Bronco headed north on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. When officers tried to persuade the driver to pull over, he stopped momentarily and then sped away, Keenan said.

The driver led police on a high-speed chase north through El Segundo. He then turned west onto Imperial Highway and crashed into the curb, leaving the SUV disabled, Keenan said. At least three Redondo Beach police cars were involved in the pursuit.