Man grabbed bean-bag shotgun, fired shot before LAPD killed him, police say

The man whom Los Angeles police fatally shot in the Lake Balboa neighborhood had grabbed a bean-bag shotgun from one of the officers approaching him and fired at least one round, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday.

The man was identified as 34-year-old Miguel Cano, who was declared dead at 1:40 p.m. Monday from gunshot wounds, said Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Beck told the Police Commission Tuesday that the officers responded to the area about 1 p.m. Monday after 911 callers reported a man “running in and out of traffic, acting very aggressively.” Beck said the officers tried to take the man into custody, but he “refused to submit to arrest” and instead charged at them.

Beck said the officers used a Taser and a bean-bag shotgun to try to detain the man, but “neither one of those tools was effective.” Despite being struck with a bean-bag round, Beck said, the man managed to grab the bean-bag gun from an officer and fired the round, prompting police to return fire.

Cano’s mother told KTLA that her son had drinking issues and was homeless after she lost her home years ago.

Witness Terin Santiago told the TV news station that Cano was unarmed. It was unclear how many shots were fired, though one witness reported the man was shot six times.

Police don’t know why the man was acting agressively, but they are looking into whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or whether he had mental health issues, LAPD Lt. John Jenal said.

Cano is the 34th person shot by the LAPD this year. Nineteen of them died.

Last year, Los Angeles police shot 26 people, 18 fatally. The number of people shot by LAPD officers fluctuated in previous years: 35 people were shot in 2013, 29 the year before and 47 in 2011.

Follow @katemather for more LAPD news and VeronicaRochaLA for California news.

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