The Los Angeles Police Department has released video footage of the day they shot a 19-year-old wielding what turned out to be a toy rifle outside his home.
The incident unfolded on Sept. 17 at about 1:20 p.m., when police in the department’s Southeast Division got a call about a “family dispute,” the LAPD said in a statement. Luis Herrera met them outside brandishing “what appeared to be a black rifle,” the officers said.
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“The officers gave Herrera commands to drop the rifle,” the police said in their statement. “However, Herrera did not comply. Herrera shouldered the rifle and pointed it at the officers,” resulting in an officer-involved shooting. Herrera was struck by gunfire and fell to the ground, the statement added.
Paramedics rushed to his aid, but Herrera was pronounced deceased. The gun turned out to be fake.
It was later determined the rifle Herrera was holding was an airsoft gun, cops said.
On Sunday, police released jarring video of the incident from the vantage point both of body cameras and from the home’s surveillance footage. They also identified the officer who fired as Police Officer II Luis Navarrete. He is on paid administrative leave, in accordance with police protocols, the LAPD said.
Herrera had been the one to call 911, KABC-TV reported, with a claim that his father had attacked him and his mother. This turned out not to be the case, investigators said.