Police Shoot 13-Year-Old Allegedly Joyriding In Stolen Car

NBC 4 | February 7, 2005

LOS ANGELES -- Authorities Monday identified an unarmed 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer while allegedly joyriding in a stolen car in South Los Angeles.

Devin Brown of Los Angeles died at the scene of Sunday's shooting, said David Campbell of the coroner's office.

An officer reportedly fired 10 shots into the car when the teen driver backed the vehicle into a patrol cruiser at the end of a brief chase.

The shooting occurred just days after prosecutors announced they would not file charges against a Los Angeles Police Department officer who repeatedly struck a man with a flashlight after a televised car and foot chase, prompting an outcry in the African American community.

Some South Los Angeles residents lashed out at police for Sunday's shooting.

"This happens far too often and far too easily in our neighborhood," resident Gene Conner said.

Residents put together a makeshift memorial with flowers and balloons near the shooting scene. It was reported that the boy's father had died last year, and his mother has recently asked an older neighbor to help get the boy back on track.

"Oh year, it's sad," resident Cleo Pierce said. "It hurts me too. I knew something (was) going to happen. When they start ... fooling around with gangs, I knew something had to happen to him."

Yvonne Jones, assistant principal at the boy's school, Audobon Middle School, said a crisis team was on campus to help students and staff members cope with the news.

One of Devin's classmates said he always made her laugh, and she cried when she heard he had died.

"He was always nice to me," she said. "He never do nothing to me. I don't know because he was just nice, period."

Officers involved in the incident reportedly have been assigned to desk duty pending an internal investigation, which should be completed in 72 hours.

Patrol officers tried to stop the 1992 Toyota Camry about 3:50 a.m. Sunday when they saw the car moving erratically near Century Boulevard and Grand Avenue and believed the driver was drunk, said LAPD Officer Kristi Sandoval of the Media Relations Office.

The roughly three-minute pursuit came to an end at Western Avenue and 83rd Street.

"The suspect collided with a fence, the officers were behind him, attempted to make a traffic stop, and at that point an officer involved shooting occurred," LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell said.

Police said the driver ignored orders to surrender and backed the car into a police cruiser.

"Officers were giving the driver commands over and over again, but he ignored them," Sandoval said.

The driver put the car into reverse and struck a patrol car, she said, prompting the shooting.

A 14-year-old boy who was also in the car tried to run away but was caught, Sandoval said. His name was not released.

A man who said he saw the events unfold from his kitchen window said it looked like the driver "might have backed it up and hit the police car," then "all of a sudden ... pow, pow, pow."

Police backed off initial reports that the boys were gang members, and LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Berkow told The Los Angeles Times the suspect was unarmed.

The officers involved in the shooting were to be questioned separately, and a report on the incident was to be on Police Chief William Bratton's desk within 72 hours, according to reports.

The Times noted that the shooting occurred about a year after LAPD officers killed another fleeing motorist who backed his car toward police at the end of a televised, 90-minute chase near Santa Monica High School.

That shooting prompted Bratton to announce last March that the department should create new rules on when officers can shoot at moving vehicles.

Bratton said such a policy should prohibit officers from shooting "unless the officer or other person are threatened by deadly force, other than the moving vehicle," according to The Times .

A proposal has been formulated but has not been considered by the Police Commission yet. The commission's president, David Cunningham, told The Times the new regulation will probably be considered within the next month.

McDonnell told The Times the proposal would make exceptions for officers whose lives were threatened by a suspect's car.