Two police officers, partnered for about one week and out of the academy 14 months, were sitting in their patrol car, doing paperwork, and discussing their next destination, when a man dressed in black walked past their vehicle.
When the man was alongside the patrol car, he turned and shot five rounds into the passenger window before running away.
The wounded officers radioed in for help. The driver suffered injuries to her jaw which nearly severed her tongue and shattered one side of her jaw. She was also hit in both forearms, breaking both ulna bones. She had to have her jaw wired shut for three months, her arms were in casts, and her tongue had to be stitched back together. After healing, she returned to work. The officer in the passenger seat was shot in the face and head. He too returned to duty.
It took officers three days to find the shooter hiding under a chicken coop in a backyard.
The shooter admitted he wanted payback for an officer-involved shooting where a friend of his died.
Eleven days before the man dressed in dark clothing opened fire on the two officers, at the home of a friend of his, detectives assigned to Operation Safe Streets were serving a search warrant. The shooter’s friend fled his home, running into a detached garage. While inside the garage, he shot at the officers, who returned fire.
Next, a rapidly growing fire began in the garage. The resident exited the garage through a hole, fleeing to a nearby yard. Officers shot and killed the man. At the home identified in the search warrant, detectives found many weapons, illegal drugs, evidence of identity theft, stolen property, and a stolen vehicle.
A jury found the shooter guilty of attempted murder and several other crimes. A judge sentenced the 39-year-old man to 166 years in prison. He won’t be eligible for parole until he’s over 140-year-old.
A District Attorney associated with this case said about this case,
“We stand united, honoring the bravery of our law enforcement and upholding the principles of justice in our community.”
Source: Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Professional Peace Officers Association, Los Angeles Times, NBC Los Angeles 4