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The officers involved in a high-profile police shooting on Los Angeles' Skid Row have been cleared of wrong doing, with prosecutors saying they acted in self defense.
In a memo, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County District Attorney stated that LAPD Sgt. Chand Syed and officers Francisco Martinez and Daniel Torres "acted lawfully in self-defense and in defense of others" during the fatal shooting of Charley Leundeu Keunang. The shooting happened on March 1, and gained significant attention thanks to a bystander's video that was posted to Facebook.
According to the memo, officers arrived on the scene after Keunang allegedly assaulted another man. Keunang then struggled with Officer Joshua Volasgis, resulting in the shooting.
"Keunang tried to grab Volasgis' firearm from its holster while falling to the sidewalk," the memo states, adding later that the officer "felt his gunbelt being pulled and twisted and felt his gun being pulled from the holster."
During the struggle, Officer Torres tried to stun Keunang with a taser. However, when Volasgis yelled out that Keunang had his gun, three officers — Torres, Martinez, and Sgt. Syed — opened fire. Keunang died at the scene.
Investigators reviewed both witness video, as well as surveillance footage and body camera recordings from Syed and Martinez.
The prosecutor's memo clears the three officers who opened fire of wrong doing, though it also faults Volasgis for losing control of his gun.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2fLwoqY
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