Posted on 07/22/2008 2:25:20 PM PDT by Smogger
Officer Brian Ragan, who has been with the Inglewood Police Department about five years, was placed on administrative leave after the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Kevin Wicks early Monday, Capt. Eve Irvine said.
Irvine said such leave is standard. Ragan is still under investigation for his role in the May 11 shooting of Michael Byoune, who died when Ragan and his patrol partner shot him as he was riding in a car.
Ragan had been placed on leave after that shooting, which occurred when he and his partner responded to the sound of gunfire in the area.
Irvine did not know when Ragan returned to patrol duty, but said he had been evaluated by a department psychologist after the first shooting and cleared for duty.
"Our department felt it was OK to release him to the field," said Irvine, commanding officer of the department's detective bureau, which is overseeing the investigation into Ragan's conduct.
She said that although Ragan had not been cleared in the Byoune's shooting, it was standard practice to return an officer to active duty "unless there are some sort of egregious circumstances like criminal charges."
Inglewood police Lt. Mike McBride said police went to the apartment building Monday at 12:20 a.m. in response to a report of a family dispute in the apartment where Wicks lives.
"They knocked on the door and they identified themselves as police officers," McBride said.
Irvine said the uniformed officers were responding to a radio call.
"At one point, the officers could not see Mr. Wicks' hand," Irvine said. "They said, 'We need to see your hand.' At this point, Mr. Wicks suddenly raised a handgun."
Irvine said Ragan fired in self-defense. She did not know how many times he used his weapon.
"On first glance, this appears it is in policy," Irvine said. "Somebody pointed a gun at the officer and they were in fear of their life. But it is subject to complete investigation."
A police statement said a semiautomatic handgun was found at the scene.
The gun was registered to Wicks, a 19-year employee of the U.S. Postal Service who was described by friends as a nice man who had had no trouble with police.
Nadia Battle, the sister of the man who was killed, told KNBC's John Cadiz Klemack that police got the "wrong call" and the "wrong apartment" and insisted the shooting was a mistake.
Irvine said she was certain police responded to the correct address.
It was the third fatal shooting by police in the southwestern Los Angeles County city of about 110,000 since early May.
"It is not common for the Inglewood Police Department to have three shootings," Irvine said. As well as a criminal and administrative investigation, the district attorney's office is also probing Wicks' death and Irvine said an independent review may be convened to look at the spate of shootings.
Ragan was placed on leave after the death of Byoune, who was shot shortly after getting into a car outside an Inglewood fast food restaurant. Officials said at the time the car was driving toward the officers and they believed gunfire was coming from within. The driver was wounded in the leg.
Ragan, who was driving a patrol car, fired four rounds through his own windshield then got out the car and continued firing from behind a wall. Ragan's partner Roman Fernandez also fired several shots.
On July 1, an Inglewood officer fatally shot a suspect in a confrontation after a radio call about gang members trespassing led to a foot pursuit down an alley. A police statement said money and narcotics fell from the person, and the shooting occurred in an alcove as the officer tried to take the suspect into custody.
Hours after Monday's shooting, a single bullet hole in the door of his apartment and small police measuring tapes affixed nearby were the only outward signs of the violent confrontation in the small, well-kept building.
Lonnell Williams, who lives across the hall, said he heard a loud knocking followed by about three shots, and then a police officer telling Wick he was going to be OK.
"He kept talking to him, giving him first aid telling him everything was going to be all right," Williams said. "Trying to make sure he didn't go into shock."
The bullet hole in the door, which has a peep hole, was higher than waist level, near the lock.
Williams described Wicks as an amicable man who worked hard and was always very quiet.
"I never heard any noise coming from his apartment," Williams said. "He was a real nice person, easy going."
Fred Carter, who identified himself as the grandfather of Wicks' 2-year-old daughter, Kory, said, "He was a very nice young man, very quiet but well-liked."
He said Wicks had no problems with police.
Larry Dozier, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said Wicks was a counter sales associate and a distribution clerk who worked afternoons at the West Los Angeles branch, where his mostly female co-workers called him their "teddy bear."
Turns out the cop that shot the Post Office employee who answered his door in the middle of the night with a pistol and then "raised it" is the same police officer.
He hasn't even been cleared of his last shooting, and he is already blowing away citizens in their own homes.
Careful with your knee. Tad soon.
Tad soon? The guy murdered this guy in his home. How many more would you like for him to kill before you feel it time to do something?
As one who is a harsh critic when it comes to police abuses of authority (”RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAY!”) I would hasten to remind you that lightning DOES strike twice, and that from the information in the article, this sounds like a justified shoot.
If you open your door, see uniformed police officers who then tell you they “need to see your hands”, that means showing your hands *WITHOUT* a weapon in them.
So what do you do if you go to the door with a weapon in your hand and it is police at the door? Any move you make will get you killed. And it is entirely sensible to have a gun in your hand when someone hits your door in the middle of the night. And if the visitor calls out “police,” well the bad guys do that, too. And if you don’t open the door the visitor will knock it down whether he is police or invader.It is a guessing game and if you guess wrong you are dead. If you don’t pick up the gun and the visitor is a bad guy you are dead, If you pick up the gun and it is police you are dead.
Probably best not to answer the door then.
Another article I read yesterday indicated the call came from outside the apartment rather than from someone inside. These articles leave a lot out and maybe it’s because a lot isn’t being released to the public at this time. None I’ve read mention if he was married, had a live in or supposedly lived alone. The article I read yesterday said he was alone when the police arrived.
I am dubious of the police version since in his last shooting he reported hearing gun shots and feeling bullets impact his car.
I suggest that if the police had evidence that implicated the victims in either one of these shootings they would be falling all over themselves to make sure the media knew.
“But based on the facts that have been presented to this point, it still sounds like a justified shoot.”
How often do police reports show it wasn’t a justified shoot?
Better yet, don’t open the door to cops EVER! I know I won’t!
Cops always cover for cops. This guy already shot someone earlier this year and claimed he felt shots hitting the police car. The victim had no gun and no bullet holes were in the police car.
You can’t trust them anymore. I know I don’t.
Neither do I. I”m pretty much against killing people though, whether it be a crook or a cop. (I know, same thing)
Lasers are the answer... Do you know you can buy an inferred laser on the internet that can preeminently blind a person or a pet in less than a 1/60 of a second.
Just push the button on the remote.
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