Los Angeles police accidentally kill 14-year-old girl while arresting a criminal
Frame: Los Angeles Police Department
In Los Angeles, a 14-year-old Hispanic girl was accidentally shot and killed by a policeman during the capture of a criminal. It is reported by the Washington Post.
Valentina and her mother came to buy clothes for Christmas on Thursday, December 23rd. At the same time, a man attacked customers with a bicycle chain. When trying to arrest the criminal, the police used automatic weapons and killed him. One of the bullets fired hit the wall of the fitting room in which Valentina was. The teenager died in her mother's arms.
The US Police Department in Los Angeles on Monday, December 27, released a video showing that the girl was injured after an officer shot a suspect, 24-year-old Daniel Lopez. The American public is divided. Some condemned the policeman for choosing a powerful lethal weapon during arrest, since the policeman did not even try to use a stun gun. At the same time, others agree with the actions of the police, even though it led to the tragedy.
Michael Jennaco, the former head of civil rights at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, says there is no definitive answer to the question of whether the police did the right thing. “Officers in extreme situations must act quickly and decisively to avoid innocent victims,” Jennaco said.
Retired police lieutenant and expert witness Adam Berkovich said that after the known cases of school shooting in Columbine and Parkland, the police were heavily criticized with statements of insufficient speed of response. “At the moment, the situation is as follows: you will be damned in both cases: if you react quickly or react slowly,” said the ex-employee.
Berkovich believes that the police acted correctly. When the officers arrived at the scene, they saw victims injured by the perpetrator who asked for help. In his opinion, such circumstances did not leave the employees a choice, so the policemen used the most accurate weapons that they had in their possession. Moreover, the police had unconfirmed information that the suspect did have a firearm.
LAPD Defense League union spokesman and board member Tom Suggau previously told the Washington Post that the officer responsible for the death was “devastated and condolences to the family.”
The family of the deceased has hired lawyers and intends to seek justice in court. This was stated by lawyer Ben Crump at a press conference on Tuesday, December 28.
On December 16, in the US state of Georgia, a child found a pistol and accidentally shot a 25-year-old man, who later died in hospital. It was noted that the child who shot was less than two years old.
On December 15, National Public Radio reported that Anjanette Young, a black resident of Chicago, would receive $ 3 million in compensation for police misconduct. Police officers, having received a search warrant from an “anonymous informant,” broke into her apartment without warning. They found the woman naked and searched, not allowing her to get fully dressed. After many years of trial, the court still took the side of the victim.
