Posted on 05/12/2008 9:21:31 AM PDT by Smogger
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Inglewood police killed one man and wounded another when they opened fire on a vehicle, saying they believed the occupants had shot at them -- although it turned out that the men were unarmed and their car was never struck with bullets.
Two officers were in the area of Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street at 1:40 a.m. Sunday when they said they heard gunshots coming from the parking lot of a Rally's Restaurant, said Inglewood police Sgt. Jeff Steinhoff.
"As they looked over, their attention was drawn to a male running away eastbound from the parking lot," Steinhoff said.
The male got into a vehicle, which moved slowly through the parking lot in the 3000 block of Manchester Boulevard, said Inglewood police Sgt. Hector Ramirez.
The officers said they felt something strike their patrol vehicle and reported hearing gunshots that they thought came from the car, Ramirez said. Both officers then fired multiple shots into the suspects' vehicle, hitting two of its three occupants, he said.
The car stopped directly across from them, he said.
Michael Woods Byoune, 19, of Los Angeles, a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, said coroner's Lt. John Kades.
A second occupant -- the driver, the Los Angeles Times reported -- was taken to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. He was in stable condition and expected to survive, Ramirez said.
The third person in the car was unharmed, Ramirez said.
Neither officer was hurt. Their patrol car had not been hit by gunfire, Sgt. Dennis Brown told The Times.
No weapons were recovered and no one was immediately charged with a crime, the newspaper reported.
Vidal Garcia, a night manager at Rally's -- about 30 yards from where the officers opened fire -- told the newspaper he "heard lots of gunshots" and was surprised police didn't find any weapons "because there were gunshots before the cops even got there."
Another Rally's employee told The Times he saw only the police taking out their guns, that he and two co-workers ducked as soon as they heard gunfire, and that he heard screaming after more than 15 shots.
He said recalled hearing someone say, "Oh, I can't breathe" and "I'm not armed," The Times reported.
The wounded man's brother called for stricter guidelines on circumstances in which police can open fire.
"They should have certain rules and guidelines that they go by, as far as, you know, just coming and just shooting without saying anything. I mean, come on now, that's just, that's just, that's ludicrous," Issac Williams told the TV station.
Williams' younger brother was shot in the leg. He and his friends had gone out for hamburgers, the TV station reported.
Byoune's family told reporters he was not a gang member and did not have a criminal record. His mother, Jackie Roberts, 55, said her son had never been to jail and was not involved in violence or gangs.
"Right now it's Mother's Day. Last year on Mother's Day he was there for me. Now's he not here and I won't see him no more," she told The Times. Related Articles: Find out more about Shootings, Crime, Gang Violence and Culture and Lifestyle.
I don’t want to be in the woods when hunters like those cops are around.
This what I imagine a press release from the P.D. will look like.
Remind me to tell you the story of the time I came upon a 'hunter' in the WI woods completely passed out with an empty brandy bottle still clutched in his drunk-ass hand.
Damn shame what happened to his Weatherby. I'm sure a competent gunsmith could have fixed that 90 degree bend in his barrel somehow....
BTW my new Springfield is now sporting a nice LaserMax on it. Sweeeeeeeeet.
L
LMAO !
Fell off his tree stand and bent his barrel and was just trying to dull the pain from his hard landing.......!!!
Good thing that southern boys would never do that shootin and drinkin thing. Never. No way.
We “thought” they had shot at us ?!?!?!?
WTH !!!
This is insane......the LEO’s in this incident need too be lead shovel on a chain gang for this boo boo !
You should have whizzed in his brandy bottle,placed it back in his hand and tied his boot laces together.
What goes on in deer camp stays in deer camp........(thankfully)
L
Cops just want to make it home safety to their families...
Of course you might not.
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"A manager at the adjacent Big Lots discount store said police did not ask for tapes from the store's outside security cameras.
"Reached at her home, Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks declined to discuss the shooting. "This is not the time to call," she said, adding that it was not a business day."
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Union rules
Makes me wonder if someone was collecting evidence and then snorted it.
Could make it interesting.
I've been right there at that intersection. Won't go there again.
I've been right there at that intersection. Won't go there again.
They “heard” shots but didn’t see any flashes at 1 a.m. in the morning?
That’s what I was thinking.....no muzzle flash? HUH?
bookmark
bfl
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