Investigators took into consideration the perception of the two officers, but a review of body camera video of the encounter showed that Margarito "did not have the apparent intent to harm" either officer, according to Moore's report. The department's inquiry determined that Officer José Zavala fired three rounds at Lopez, while his partner, Julio Quintanilla, shot once. A Times review of nearly 50 LAPD shootings between 2020 and the start of this year found at least eight such incidents. The episode continued a pattern of shootings in which a group of LAPD officers simultaneously fired handguns and weapons meant to avoid killing, such as projectile launchers and Tasers. A toxicology report revealed the presence of "benzodiazepines, cannabinoids and ethanol" in his bloodstream at the time of his death. Lopez was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Almost simultaneously, two other officers fired their guns. He took four steps in the direction of an officer holding a 40-millimeter projectile launcher, and then he turned to his left.Īs he did, the officer shot him with a 40mm round, which is designed to incapacitate people without killing them. Then he suddenly jumped to his feet, which caused his hat to fly off. Lopez sat there for a few minutes, holding the knife between his knees with his head down, according to the chief's report. The impact did not cause Lopez to drop the knife, but he did sit back down on the steps. They drew their handguns and directed their cruiser lights at Lopez, who didn't appear to respond, according to body camera footage of the encounter.Īt one point, Lopez held the knife to his throat and made the sign of the cross on his chest with his other hand, prompting one of the officers to fire a less-than-lethal projectile at him. That police officer was eventually joined by others, and for nearly 10 minutes they shouted commands at Lopez to drop the knife in English and Spanish. He found Lopez sitting on the front steps of the building on East Adams Boulevard, with a 6-inch butcher knife pressed against his neck. The first officer to arrive at the scene was a gang unit sergeant, who had been driving by when he was flagged down by two people. Lopez had been acting erratically since coming home earlier that day and at some point pulled out a butcher knife and went outside, his family previously told The Times. Lopez's sister had called 911 because she was afraid her brother might hurt himself. 18, when police responded to an apartment building in Historic South-Central. The commission considered the case in a closed-door session at its weekly meeting Tuesday it voted unanimously to approve the findings reached in the chief's report. in the Historic South-Central neighborhood found that Lopez did not pose enough of a threat at the time he was shot to justify the use of deadly force. Two Los Angeles police officers broke department policy by fatally shooting a possibly suicidal man who was armed with a knife, according to the Police Commission, which agreed with Chief Michel Moore's assessment that the man didn't pose an immediate threat to either officer.Ī review of the shooting in December of 22-year-old Margarito Lopez Jr.
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