Shooting Suspect Points Handgun at Police NR11501kr

November 2, 2011
Update

The officer involved in the below shooting which occurred on October 23, 2011 has been identified as Police Officer II Lance Perkins, 8 years and 8 months with the Department.

Los Angeles: A man armed with a gun fired a shot into an inhabited dwelling, fought with the residents inside the house, then turned the gun towards arriving police officers, resulting in an officer involved shooting (OIS).

On October 23rd just before 5:00 p.m. Officers from Southeast Division responded to a call of an Assault with a Deadly (ADW) shots fired in the 10200 block of South Main Street in Los Angeles. As officers arrived on scene they were confronted by a suspect armed with a handgun. The suspect raised the weapon and pointed it at the officers resulting in an officer involved shooting.  The suspect was struck multiple times in the lower extremities.

The preliminary investigation revealed that prior to the officer’s arrival the suspect was involved in a dispute and altercation with one of the residents of the location. The suspect left the residence at some point and returned a short time later with a handgun.

The suspect now armed with a handgun demanded entry at the front door. The residents, which included several adults and numerous children, refused to allow the suspect to enter. At that point the suspect fired a round through the door into the home. The residents scrambled for safety inside, hiding in closets and wherever they could find concealment from the armed suspect.

The suspect then walked around the residence to a side door where he gained entry into the residence.  The suspect still armed with the gun, attacked a male adult inside the home. The victim struggled with the suspect for the gun.

The victim’s wife also began to try and wrestle the handgun away from the suspect, but the suspect was able to break free from the victim’s wife. Moments later Southeast officers confronted the armed suspect and the officer involved shooting occurred.

The suspect has been identified as 27-year old Melvin Butler.  He was booked for Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Peace Officer and is being held on $200,000 bail.  No officers were injured during the incident.  The victim is also a male Black unknown age at this time.  Both the suspect and victim were transported to local hospitals in serious condition.

The LAPD Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved shooting and all related crimes.
 
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 Department’s use-of-force policy which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.