Police Shooting Unjustified, Chief Says

Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck says three police officers who shot to death an unarmed man following a high-speed chase last year violated department policy in resorting to deadly force, it was reported today.

Beck rejected the officers’ claims that they opened fire because they feared that their lives were in danger, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The preponderance of the evidence does not independently support perceptions that a deadly threat was present,” Beck wrote in a recently released report, according to The Times.

After reviewing Beck’s report, the Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the department, voted unanimously to accept his findings.

The Dec. 13, 2013, shooting in the city’s South Park neighborhood drew national attention after local news programs televised it live.

The suspect, Brian Newt Beaird, had turned and was moving away from officers when the three opened fire, according to the video footage. Beaird was hit by 15 shots. The three bullets that mostly likely killed the 51-year-old National Guard veteran struck him from behind, the report said. City officials signaled in April that they did not believe there was a plausible justification for the decision to fire on Beaird when they agreed to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the man’s family.

Beck now must decide what punishment, if any, to give the officers, who have remained relieved of duty since the shooting. They face possible suspensions or firing, although Beck could elect to simply order them to receive further training.

Although the officers had only seconds to act in difficult conditions, Beck ultimately found their decision to shoot was unreasonable.

-City News Service