The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Monday released body camera video of a deputy shooting and injuring a 14-year-old boy who they say ran from a stolen car and hid in a Commerce neighborhood.
The incident happened on July 2 on Cowlin Avenue.
The 14-year-old survived but neighbors told NBC4 the bullet fired by the deputy went through the window of a home just a block away from where the shooting happened and where a 1-year-old child was standing.
“The bullet goes through my mom’s window. The glass literally shatters over my daughter”, said Lauren Barron, Commerce resident.
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Barron said the stray bullet entered her mother’s home on Everington Avenue, a block away from Cowlin Avenue, where deputies shot and injured the teenager.
“It feels like there was a drop in protocol for them to have left to begin with and then for deputies to have missed so blatantly and put both my daughter and my mom at risk the way they did,” Barron said.
According to LASD, deputies were searching for two teens who ran from a stolen vehicle. They found one and while towing the stolen vehicle, they say neighbors spotted the other. When deputies approached the teen, surveillance video shows the moment he raises his hands, then pulls something from his pocket and put his hands back up before they shoot him.
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“I personally think the I understand he was a kid. He had his hands up in the air and the police officer rounded the corner of my truck and just started shooting. Again, it's a difficult job, but I didn't see him pointing the weapon at the officer at all”, said Commerce resident Billy Padilla.
Earlier today, the department released a body camera video as part of a “critical incident briefing.” In it, they detailed the moments the officer spots a gun in the boy’s right hand before firing.
The camera shows that at the time of the first bullet, the boy had both hands up in the air, but according to LASD, the right hand was holding a gun.
At least one of the bullets traveled hundreds of feet to Barron’s mother’s house, who was standing by the window with her 1-year-old daughter.
"The glass literally shatters over my daughter and because she had the double panel window, luckily the bullet curved just enough to miss her, Barron said.
Barron and many neighbors are now asking the sheriff’s department to review all the decisions and actions taken that day.
“I would like to get an answer on why that deputy shot the way he did and if there will be additional training or just kind of going back to the basics with him and the department as a whole, because just because someone didn't die doesn't mean that it shouldn't be revisited,” Barron said.
NBC4 reached out to LASD to ask about the neighbor’s specific concerns but were referred to the video they released. Here, they say that once they finish their investigation, the District Attorney’s office will review it to determine if the use of force was legally justified.
