LAPD Releases Body Cam Footage Of Standoff, Shootout With Woman At MacArthur Park
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Body cam footage of a bizarre standoff and shootout with a woman at MacArthur Park was released Tuesday by the LAPD.
Michelle Renee Lariccia, 43, of Los Angeles, was eventually arrested at the end of that nearly three-hour standoff. She was first taken to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds to her torso and right arm, then booked on charges of assault with a firearm on a police officer, negligent discharge of a firearm, and could potentially also be charged with animal cruelty, according to Los Angeles police.
The standoff started as a report of shots fired at MacArthur Park the afternoon of April 2. Police arrived to find a woman with several bags and a rolling suitcase firing shots at the lake.
Body cam footage shows several tense exchanges in which police officers order her to put down her gun, not reach into her bag, and to lay down on the ground and put her hands behind her back.
"Ma'am listen, we're here to help you, OK? You're not gonna get arrested, we'll take you to the hospital right now," one officer says.
Lariccia, however, screams "no" at the officers repeatedly.
In another officer's body cam, several officers yell at Lariccia to drop the gun, before she points it at them and fires several shots, prompting officers to fire back. The video shows her falling to the ground, then later getting back up and walking back and forth on the sidewalk. She appears to put on a black backpack and walk away from her other bag and rolling suitcase.
Lariccia was eventually taken into custody after coming out of the lake. She at one point swam to an island in the lake, where she was seen harassing the ducks and birds there. When she came out, she was taken into custody while clutching a fistful of cash and appeared to be only wearing underwear.
A gun was recovered at the scene.
A use-of-force investigation is continuing into the shooting. Lariccia is being held on $600,000 bail and is scheduled to make her next court appearance on June 11.