No charges to be filed against LASD deputies who fatally shot Dijon Kizzee in 2020

The pair of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies who fatally shot a South Los Angeles man in 2020 will not face charges, according to the L.A. District Attorney's office. 

Dijon Kizzee, 29, was fatally shot on August 31, 2020 when he was contacted by LASD deputies for reportedly riding his bike on the wrong side of the road in the 1200 block of West 109th Place in the Westmont neighborhood of South L.A. 

According to a report from the District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division released Tuesday Kizzee discarded the bike and ran on foot when he was approached by the deputies. They caught up with him about a block away from the spot of their first interaction, at which point he "appeared ready to surrender."

The report details that Kizzee was holding a green towel in one hand and a red jacket in the other. He is said to have raised his hands as one of the deputies, Christian Morales, approached him. When Morales attempted to grab his hands, "Kizzee struck Morales in the face." 

At this time, the other deputy, Michael Garcia, ran to assist Morales and became engaged in a struggle with Kizzee. 

"The struggle caused Kizzee to drop a Ruger 9mm pistol on the ground, between him and Morales, as they stood inches apart, face to face," the report states. "Kizzee bent down and picked up the pistol. Morales stepped back, drew his weapon, and fired multiple shots at Kizzee, who turned away from Morales and fell to the ground, substantially out of view of the surveillance camera. According to both deputies, Kizzee went to the ground but began reaching for the pistol, ignoring their commands to stop. Morales and Garcia fired several more rounds in rapid succession, followed by a slower series. Garcia fired the final shot several seconds after the preceding shot."

Kizzee was shot 16 times, an incident which his family has referred to as an "execution."

The Justice System Integrity Division report states that Deputies Morales and Garcia "reasonably believed, based on the totality of the circumstances, that force was necessary to defend against a threat of death when they initially fired their weapons, and there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Morales' or Garcia's final shots were not fired in lawful self-defense or defense of another."

This report comes despite multiple witness reports that Kizzee never threatened officers and that he was unarmed, a sentiment which was echoed by attorney Carl Douglas, who announced a multi-million dollar damages claim against Los Angeles County on behalf of the Kizzee family. 

"Witnesses said that he never threatened any officer with anything," Douglas said. "And then, once that gun dropped to the ground, witnesses say that the training officer fired four times, striking Mr. Kizzee in his chest. And after Mr. Kizzee fell to the ground, witnesses say the other officer joined and they both opened up and struck Mr. Kizzee's body more than 16 different times."

The incident sparked outrage amongst local communities, who took to the streets in protest for days after the shooting. They again marched earlier in 2022 on the two year anniversary of the shooting. 

In recent months, Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been openly critical of the LA DA's handling of the case, alleging that George Gascón has intentionally withheld the release of the reports until after the Nov. 8 election.

"When we do our investigations, good, bad and different results, we have to present them and do what we're supposed to do, take action, administratively we take action. We present the case to the District Attorney and the Attorney General if it's a federal case. Still, we don't withhold things for material gain or political advantage, and this is exactly what's happened with all four cases, and I'm disappointed but not shocked," said Sheriff Villanueva. 

Gascón's office has denied those allegations, saying that all reports must go through a chain of command before being finalized until he or a designee signs off, and families involved are notified. 

The District Attorney offered a statement after the report was publicized, which read: 

"My heart goes out to Mr. Kizzee's family for the loss of their loved one. As District Attorney, I have prioritized conducting thorough reviews of homicides and shootings of civilians by law enforcement and have not shied away from pursuing criminal charges against law enforcement officers when I believe the evidence is sufficient to prove a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Once the review of the case was finalized through the chain of command, we contacted the family through their attorneys and offered to meet with them, a protocol I implemented as District Attorney. We thereafter provided them an advanced copy of the shooting memorandum setting forth the rationale for our conclusion that we would not be seeking criminal charges against the two deputies involved in the shooting. 

Our analysis does not consider whether a case against these officers could be proven in a civil proceeding or in an administrative proceeding, only whether we could prove the case in a criminal court beyond a reasonable doubt. The memorandum was subsequently provided to the Sheriff. 

We will continue to thoroughly review every officer-involved shooting investigation presented to us and provide the family, the officers, and the public with the rationale for our decision in those cases where we believe we cannot proceed with the filing of a criminal case."