LAPD Chief Michel Moore denies officer was beaten or cut in fatal training accident

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore refuted claims Tuesday that an officer who died in a training exercise had been beaten by fellow officers or suffered cuts to his head.

Speaking to the city Police Commission on Tuesday, Moore said that while the department does not generally comment on pending legal claims, he felt the need to do so given the "significant media attention" the allegations have received.

"Officer Tipping did not sustain any laceration to the head, any cut or otherwise to his head, as a result of his fall to the ground when he and another officer during a training exercise fell to the ground," Moore told the commission. "Officer Tipping was also not struck or beaten during his training session. He did grapple with another officer, and both fell to the ground, resulting in a catastrophic injury to his spinal cord."

Officer Houston Ryan Tipping died May 29, three days after the training accident at the LAPD's Elysian Park academy. Moore said previously that Tipping was working as a bike instructor in a scenario that involved grappling with another officer. When Tipping fell during the exercise, officers who were present initiated CPR until Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics arrived.

Tipping's mother, Shriley Huffman, filed a damages claim Friday, alleging that her 32-year-old son was beaten by fellow officers in an exercise designed to "simulate a mob." The claim alleged Tipping was repeatedly struck in the head, causing him to bleed, and that he suffered multiple neck fractures that led to his death.

"As a parent myself, I cannot imagine the pain and suffering, the grief that Officer Tipping's mother and his entire family is going through," Moore said. "We also grieve in his tragic death and I'm committed to ensuring that the investigation is comprehensive in understanding how this accident occurred and what added safeguards or other steps can be taken to ensure that it's never experienced again."

Tipping, a five-year department veteran who worked out of the Devonshire Division, is survived by his parents, stepfather, siblings, and his girlfriend.