Armed Suspect Shot in Pacific Palisades
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, June 9, 2000
"Armed Suspect Shot in Pacific Palisades"
Los Angeles - On June 8, 2000, at approximately 4:05 p.m., uniformed officers from West Los Angeles Area responded to a radio call of a "415 man with a gun" located at 17351 Sunset Boulevard. The suspect was described as a male Hispanic in his thirties. Several West Los Angeles Area officers responded to the scene. Upon their arrival, citizens at the scene directed the officers to the suspect's location, which was on a vacant hillside just east of the aforementioned address. Officers observed the suspect seated on the hillside and saw that he was armed with a handgun. The officers verbalized commands to the suspect, in English and in Spanish, numerous times; however, he failed to comply or acknowledge any of them.
At one point the suspect stood up and his weapon dropped to the ground. Realizing that he had dropped his weapon, he immediately rearmed himself, placing the weapon in his right hand. The suspect then began walking directly toward uniformed officers, positioned approximately 30 feet from the suspect on the west side of building located at 17351 Sunset Boulevard. West Los Angeles Area uniformed patrol Officer John Costa, Serial No. 31647, 27 years of age, and five years with the Department ordered the suspect to stop and drop his weapon. Despite numerous commands, the suspect continued to advance upon Officer Costa and his partner. Officer Costa, fearing for his life and the life of his partner, fired one round from close range at the suspect with his Department issued shotgun. The suspect was struck in the upper torso and immediately fell to the ground. He was taken into custody without further incident. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported the suspect to UCLA medical center via air ambulance. The suspect was pronounced dead at the hospital. The suspect has not been identified at this time.
The suspect's weapon was recovered at the scene. Upon closer inspection, the weapon was identified as a pellet pistol with a long barrel.
Robbery Homicide Division is conducting the investigation.
This press release was prepared by Sergeant John Pasquariello, Media Relations Section.
For Release 9:00 am PDT
June 9, 2000
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