Officers Involved in Shooting with Dangerous Carjacker after Pursuit NRF011-15jk

UPDATE February 20, 2015

Updated: The officers involved in the below incident have been identified as Police Officer II Ricardo Verduzco, Serial No. 32995, Sergio Arreola, Serial No. 40617, and Jorge Talledo, Serial No. 38657 assigned to Hollebeck Division.

Montebello: On February 9, 2015, around 6:20 p.m., uniformed officers from Hollenbeck Area were patrolling the area of 1st Street and Soto Street. They observed a vehicle and conducted a status check on the vehicle, which revealed that it was stolen. When the officers attempted a traffic stop, the suspect refused to pull over and a pursuit ensued.

The suspect, later identified as Aaron Lorta, drove erratically and collided into several cars while fleeing from officers. Lorta changed vehicles at one point by carjacking a female victim at gunpoint in the City of South Gate. The pursuit ended in the area of Via Campo and Garfield Avenue in the City of Montebello when Lorta attempted to carjack another victim, but was unsuccessful. Lorta then fled on foot while carrying a firearm in his hand. Officers were right behind Lorta giving commands to drop the weapon and surrender. Still armed with firearm in his hand, Lorta turned towards officers and an officer involved shooting occurred.

Los Angeles Fire Department Paramedics responded and transported Lorta to a local hospital where his injuries were considered non-life threatening. No officers were injured during this incident. Further investigation revealed that the gun being used was a replica firearm, which has been booked as evidence at Scientific Investigation Division.

Force Investigation Division investigators responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved-shooting.

The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Departments use-of-force policy, which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable. Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review of the facts of the officer-involved-shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call Force Investigation Division at 213-486-5230. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.