Off-Duty LAPD Officers Shoot Man They Say Attacked Them
NORTH HILLS (CBSLA) — An investigation is underway in North Hills after two off-duty Los Angeles police officers opened fire on a man they say attacked them with a flashlight early Wednesday morning.
A call of an off-duty officer needing help came in at about 1 a.m., right at the same time there were reports of someone being shot in the area, LAPD Sgt. Andrew Kukla said. The calls drew a huge police response to the 5900 block of Orion Avenue, near Rayen Street.
Preliminary reports from the scene were that two off-duty officers were driving in the area and stopped to confront a man outside an apartment building. At some point, the man hit one of the officers in the head with what was initially reported as a bat, prompting both officers to open fire, hitting the man in the stomach.
The injured officer was taken from a 7-Eleven, and loaded into an ambulance in a neck brace. He has since been released from the hospital.
The man who allegedly attacked the officers was also taken to the hospital.
Both are expected to survive.
"Actually finding out what led up to the confrontation, to the officer-involved shooting, is gonna take some time this morning, because they have to be interviewed by detectives, that we can actually put all the pieces all together so we can get the whole story," LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar said.
Police later said the object the man attacked the officers was a large metal flashlight, and that investigators are on the scene to try and find it and collect it.
Even though the officers were off-duty, the incident is being investigated by the Chief of Police's Use Of Force Review Board and the police commission.
CBS2's Dave Lopez, reporting from the scene, an area known for gang and drug activity, said many unanswered questions remained. Did the officers know the man who attacked them? Did they identify themselves as police officers?
Just about a mile away, in a separate incident, a man was taken into custody after police found him firing at parked cars at Roscoe and Sepulveda boulevards. Police did shoot at the suspect, but he was not hit.