Gunman, baby die in police shootout

**Tehuti-4** · 07-12-2005

Gunman, baby die in police shootout

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A toddler girl was shot and killed when her intoxicated father used her as a shield during a fiery gunbattle with police following a standoff that lasted three hours, authorities said.

Police Chief William Bratton said Monday that his officers were well within department policy when they shot car wash owner Jose Raul Pena, 34, on Sunday. Pena also was killed; an officer was shot in the shoulder but was expected to recover.

"You aren't going to stand there with somebody shooting at you," Bratton said. "The person responsible for any loss of life ... was the individual who held his child out as a shield and continued to shoot."

The 19-month-old child's mother, Lorena Lopez, said she pleaded with officers to hold their fire.

"He had problems with depression, his business was not doing well," Lopez told KNBC-TV. "I told them that he needed help, he needs a psychologist, but please don't shoot. They didn't understand, and the police fired, like, 300 shots."

Autopsies will determine whether the bullet that killed the toddler was fired by police or her father. Police spokesman Kevin Maiberger said 11 officers fired during the standoff, but it was not immediately known how many shots they took.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the officers were only trying to protect themselves and the public.

"My heart is out to a grieving mother who's lost her child. My heart is also out to those officers who put their lives on the line," Villaraigosa said. "Not a one of them went into that situation with the intent to hurt anyone. They were doing their jobs."

The standoff started when officers were called to an intersection in South Los Angeles west of Watts where Pena was behaving erratically and aggressively.

He fired at the officers and ran inside a fenced area that included his apartment and his car wash and detailing business. He had a 9 mm handgun and a shotgun and was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol, police said.

Police called in a SWAT team and tried to talk to the man. At one point, as officers helped a neighbor escape, he fired at them and they fired back, police said.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

**Elisa Keisha** · 07-12-2005

Unbelieveble... what this man had done for the police bein so hesitant in catchin/murderin him? it was worth the life of a little girl?? I would like to know how many bullets hit her.

In the American movies there's always some head of the police that shout "dont shoot!!" when some kid is involved....what happened with that???Â¬LÂ¬

A LITTLE SWEET PRINCESS!!!! A DAUGHTER! A WHOLE FUTURE TAKEN AGAIN FOR NO REASON.....
JUSTICE!!!!

**Lump** · 07-12-2005

what else do you think pig's can manage besides death and destruction? it makes no sense in the world, heaven or hell why the cop's didnt wait for him to finish shooting off rounds before they moved in for action.

Only if he was gonna shoot his own child, but even then a sniper should've been called in. the LAPD is ruthless as the crips or the bloods the media love to portray as savage animals. This is the second, without just cause, event I have heard involving LittleAsshole police.

*They open fire on a suspect in a jeep as he attempted to ram the baricade, about 10 cops all unleash on him and it's caught on film.
*Now the little girl.

"When will the citizens of this nation have enough of the bullshit pile-a-tricks that get kicked by this government and world politics?"

**Ronin** · 07-12-2005

I was pretty P.O.'ed when I read this story also. It seems to me if you have a 3 hour standoff with someone who is holding a hostage, you have enough time to get a sniper in position to take this guy out....if it was at all necessary. Given all the time that had elapsed I'm sure LAPD had more than enough time to make the shot fatal to only the perp instead of laying down a blanket of fire and extinguishing the life of one innocent child. But that seems to be the norm in the law enforcement community. We had a situation here in Louisville, where a crack addict in his fifties and in poor health was shot at least 12 times at almost point blank range WHILE HANDCUFFED with his hands behind his back. He allegedly grabbed a boxcutter knife nad made a lunging action toward the officers and they opened fire....murdering him. It seems that the mentality of shoot first and often, regardless of the situation, is the mindset of police. A spokeperson for the LAPD said the death of the little girl would haunt the officers for the rest of their lives. IT SHOULD! Her death was a result of rabid policing with no regard for the welfare of the hostage. The end result, a life needlessly lost. May she rest in peace.

**nattyreb** · 07-14-2005

Believe it or not, i was half asleep when i first heard this story and when i never heard anymore about it, figured it must have been a dream. Bro. Tehuti, you are on time.

If ANY actions are being planned around this in L.A. (or anywhere), PLEASE POST, these pigs are so far outta control now that it's gonna take a mass uprising just to stop 'em from murdering us b4 we reach pre-school age! i'll see what i can find out next time i'm online, meantime please post up any updates/follow-ups to this crucial story, if possible, OK?

**rebelAfrika** · 07-14-2005

Originally Posted by nattyreb

Believe it or not, i was half asleep when i first heard this story and when i never heard anymore about it, figured it must have been a dream. Bro. Tehuti, you are on time.

If ANY actions are being planned around this in L.A. (or anywhere), PLEASE POST, these pigs are so far outta control now that it's gonna take a mass uprising just to stop 'em from murdering us b4 we reach pre-school age! i'll see what i can find out next time i'm online, meantime please post up any updates/follow-ups to this crucial story, if possible, OK?

Nattyreb...I SWEAR TO GOD...this may seem TOO WEIRD to be believable...but I'ma say it anyway (because it's true and "I" know it's the truth and that's all that counts). The EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME. I was halfway sleep (somewhere between being asleep and being awake) when I heard this on the news myself...and so I didn't fully process what had been said. I thought it was just a bad dream.

Anyways, I'll post anything I hear about it from my news source beyond the news...the African community.

Forward!!!

**Sadiku** · 07-14-2005

This is as wrong as it get's. I wasn't going to comment on this, but wrong is wrong. Last night here a little girl was killed because the "holice" was chasing a teenager in a car over a traffic violation. The teenager lost control and ran up on the sidewalk and injured two people and killed the little girl. How senseless was it to chase somebody for a mere traffic violation? Is a traffic violation all that important that you must chase people through the hood at high speeds? This BS.

**stop2005** · 08-06-2005

California Police shooting, Police Chase's is too much, multiple Fix it Ticket's

From Stop2005,
I heard that there might be a Riot by the end of Aug 2005, because of this shooting.(A friend told me.)
If so this would be the first Mexican Riot in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile I don't mind a fix it ticket, but Heck give me the chance
to fix b4 I get another ticket, An Officer told me yep if you keep
driving I will give you a ticket, I got 4 tickets for a broken Tail light Lens.
Sorry to bring this up, but if a driver ran away from the cops and hit somebody because of getting a ticket for whatever
I know its wrong, and this driver hit and killed another driver, that would be wrong, the officer should stop, and later get this driver, if that would save a Life or lives. (I think that this Money Hungry Courts / of the State of California should think of bringing all those Factories that left the state of California, and stop those easy Lawsuites, this too I heard is why they have to give so many tickets, to make up for the lost of the states income, sue for this sue for that. other states don't have silly lawsuites like California.
Yea bring those Factories back- and leave us all alone, and stay out of our pockets, or else raise the minimum Wage, so I can afford all those silly
tickets, ok yes some tickets are needed, but heck give a guy the chance to fix his/her fix it ticket- whatever the problem. Oh I got three other tickets b4 the due date total tickets b4 the due date = 4

LATER Stop 2005

Originally Posted by rebelafrika

Nattyreb...I SWEAR TO GOD...this may seem TOO WEIRD to be believable...but I'ma say it anyway (because it's true and "I" know it's the truth and that's all that counts). The EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME. I was halfway sleep (somewhere between being asleep and being awake) when I heard this on the news myself...and so I didn't fully process what had been said. I thought it was just a bad dream.

Anyways, I'll post anything I hear about it from my news source beyond the news...the African community.

Forward!!!

**Kweku_Omowale** · 08-06-2005

wowa little child is gone from this world wow,a boy had an axe embedded on his head in England, it is time for us to get organized,i know,that in amerika is to shoot to kill first then ask questions later, my that little girl rest in peace and i hope,i do hope by the grace of OLODUNMARE,that
L.A will erupt another riot, they are going too far with their terminator attitude,natty reb,it doesnt help either,look who is the governor of california, the son ofa nazi storm trooper!!

**Little95** · 08-08-2005

did this fool nino brown his lil girl??? then he kept dumpin @ 1 time w/ole gurl in his arms??? He didn't expect to get him & his lil gurl blasted? betta undastand this is amerikkka jack & 1 time blast 1st ask questions last!!!!
Oh by the way... Messcans ain't go so squat iight, but whine to Villargosa & get waved on by these shays.... Mayos ain't go do nuffin but mess w/ us 1st