Police Officials Defend Shootings

The fatal shootings of four men in 48 hours by police appear to be justifiable, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

“It appears to be an anomaly. The sad thing is that it occurred at all,” said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “The streets are violent.”

In unrelated incidents Monday, Los Angeles Police Department officers fatally shot a robber in Silver Lake and a gunman who they said lunged at them when police answered a domestic dispute call in South Los Angeles.

Sheriff’s deputies mortally wounded two men who also allegedly pointed guns at them, one on Sunday in Bellflower and the other on Monday in the Athens area.

“Nothing in our investigations suggests a problem,” Sheriff’s Capt. Ray Peavy said.

Based on an initial inquiry, the LAPD shootings have been deemed justifiable, said a department source familiar with the investigations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Ultimately, the district attorney’s office decides whether an officer-involved shooting is justifiable.

“These incidents reflect the level of violence out there. These shootings keep occurring because in most cases, suspects pull guns on cops or something resembling a gun,” Peavy said.

Autopsy results were not available Tuesday, coroner’s spokesman David Campbell said. Authorities identified the dead in the four cases.

* At 5:10 p.m. Monday, off-duty LAPD Officer Hannu Tarjamo was waiting for a haircut in a barbershop at Sunset and Silver Lake boulevards while his wife, who is also an LAPD officer, and newborn child sat in their truck. A man burst in and announced a robbery, sticking a gun in the owner’s side.

Tarjamo drew his gun and fired several times because he feared for his life, Sgt. Richard Kanzaki said. Police identified the dead man as Robert Navarrette, 20. The weapon used in the robbery was a BB gun resembling a semiautomatic weapon.

* Kazi Bell, 22, was standing near 125th Street and Vermont Avenue with a friend about 1:15 a.m. Monday. Deputies patrolling the area, known for gang activity, approached them. Bell fled, then turned and pointed a handgun at pursuing deputies before being fatally shot. Detectives found a revolver near the body.

* LAPD officers shot Cameron T. Williams, 35, after answering a 911 call about a domestic dispute in the 100 block of West 111th Place early Monday. Officers Ramon Guillen and Albert Flores heard an argument as they approached the open front door of the cottage, and Williams lunged at Guillen with a handgun, authorities said.

Williams had a .357 Magnum with LAPD commemorative markings, the kind of pistol once sold as memorabilia at the Police Academy, officials said.

* Maynard King, 74, died Sunday after deputies shot him at a Bellflower restaurant. According to witnesses, he said he drew a gun and shot two waitresses in the leg because he wanted someone to call police.

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Times staff writers Rachana Rathi and Susana Enriquez contributed to this report.