Officer-involved killings in Westlake and Covina
Officers shot and killed a man in the Westlake area after he allegedly pulled out a handgun.
One victim allegedly pulled a gun after a drunk-driving stop. The other confronted officers after being chased in a stolen car.
By Francisco Vara-Orta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
9:19 AM PDT, May 13, 2008
Two separate officer-involved shootings early this morning, in Los Angeles and Covina, resulted in fatalities.
In the first incident, California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed a suspected drunk driver who allegedly pulled a gun after a traffic stop west of downtown Los Angeles, said Officer Terry Liu, a spokesperson for the CHP.
The motorist was pulled over about 12:15 a.m. on West 7th Street in the Westlake area, Liu said. When he got out of his vehicle, he pulled out a handgun, he said.
Liu said the officers shot and killed the man in self-defense. The dead man's name was not immediately released.
A passenger in the car was handcuffed and questioned, Liu said. But officers declined to say if the passenger was arrested.
In a separate incident in Covina about 2 a.m., Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol Officers chased a stolen car into an alley near the 100 block of West First Avenue, where gunfire erupted after the driver of the vehicle tried to run over an officer, authorities said.
The male driver was fatally wounded, said Deputy Ed Hernandez of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. His name was not released.
No deputies or CHP officers were injured, Hernandez said.
Both incidents remain under investigation.
francisco.varaorta@latimes.com
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