LA officers fatally shoot man suspected of shooting at cruiser

A suspect who was killed by Los Angeles police in Van Nuys threw a beer bottle through the rear window of a patrol auto, leading the officers to believe they were being shot at, police Chief Charlie Beck said Monday.

No firearm was recovered at the scene of the shooting that left the man, described as 45 years of age by coroner’s officials, dead, said LAPD Officer Drake Madison.

The two officers were in their patrol vehicle at the intersection of Sepulveda and Victory boulevards about 11:30 p.m. Saturday when they “suddenly hear and saw their rear window shatter”, said LAPD Officer Mike Lopez.

The man’s name had not been released as of Sunday afternoon pending notification of next of kin, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. “… The priorities we’ll look at here is, “Were the officers” perceptions reasonable?”

Police officers are authorized to use deadly force to protect themselves or others if they reasonably believe they are in danger of death or serious injury.

Neither of the officers, who were assigned to the LAPD’s Van Nuys division, was injured in the incident. “They alighted from the vehicle and an officer-involved shooting occurred”.