No charges for off-duty LAPD who fired shot during struggle with 13-year-old boy
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors announced Wednesday that no charges will be brought against an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who fired a gun during a scuffle with a 13-year-old boy in February 2017. Cellphone recordings of the incident, involving officer Kevin Ferguson and a group of children, went viral, leading to widespread protests in southern California.
The videos showed Ferguson exchanging angry words with several teenagers who had walked across the front lawn of his Anaheim home. The argument with the boy turned physical, and Ferguson pulled out a gun and fired it into the ground, sending the teens running and screaming.
An Orange County District Attorney's Office official said at a press conference Wednesday that the incident began when Ferguson confronted a 13-year-old girl and called her "a very vulgar and derogatory name. A name that most reasonable people will tell you no woman should ever be called....let alone a 13-year-old child."
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas condemned Ferguson's behavior during the incident, while defending the decision not to charge him.
"I think we all understand that's a pretty unreasonable position to take....that behavior, going out there and yelling at the kids is not good behavior," Rackauckas said. "If you watch the video, it doesn't look like they did anything wrong."
A 13-year-old boy stepped in to defend the girl, they said. As the situation escalated, one of the key contentions in the case occurred when the boy said if Ferguson touched him, he would "sue" Ferguson. The officer insists the boy said "shoot," not "sue."
Investigators determined the mixup was not unreasonable.
At that point, the boy repeatedly tried to get away, and Ferguson pursued. Ferguson kicked the boy in the groin and put him in a chokehold while pursuing him.
Children could be heard on video yelling, "You're choking him!"
At one point, Ferguson told investigators he decided to detain the boy until on-duty police arrived. At one point Ferguson said he was a police officer, and at least one child could be heard replying that it's not clear if they should believe him.
Ferguson eventually held the boy and backed toward a hedge, while surrounded by a group of more than a dozen teens, one of whom punched him, investigators said.
At one point a boy removed what may have been a pen from above his ear and placed it in his back pocket. Investigators determined that as the boy's hand moved up from his pocket, Ferguson may have feared he was lifting a weapon.
Ferguson fired one shot toward the ground, and many of the children scattered. Investigators said Ferguson had the right to conduct a so-called private person's arrest, "based on the appearance of danger." They said they could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ferguson used unreasonable force.
Ferguson's attorney Larry Hanna has said Ferguson feared for his own and his sick father's safety because of the teens, who he had reported to police before. The boy and one other teen were arrested but Ferguson was not, fueling the anger of hundreds of protesters who took to the streets in the nights that followed. Dozens were arrested after blocking traffic.
Ferguson was pulled from the street and put on desk duty for the LAPD at the time. It's not clear what his current status is.
Police have not released the boy's name because he is a minor.