Police fired more than 90 rounds at man on 101 Freeway

[ellisonz]

April 12, 2012 | 3:34 pm

Eight Los Angeles police officers fired more than 90 rounds at an unarmed 19-year-old man who had led them on a high speed freeway pursuit and called 911 to threaten them with a gun, authorities said.

The shooting played out on live television after Abdul Arian refused to pull over when police tried to stop him for erratic driving. He led police on a chase onto the 101 Freeway, where he stopped in dramatic fashion -- turning his car and stopping across eastbound lanes.

He jumped out of the car and ran. Then he turned and appeared to run backwards. Police said he assumed a "shooting stance" and appeared to raise his arms and appear to point a weapon, prompting them to open fire, killing him.

No gun was found at the scene, but police released statements Arian made to a 911 dispatcher in which he claims he has a weapon and makes it clear that he's not afraid to use it.

More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/police-90-rounds-101-freeway.html

Never a dull day...

[rrneck]

1. In the words of Chris Rock

"Don't run from the police. If they have to catch you, they're bringing an ass kicking with them"

[FreakinDJ]

2. The police need to find that gun he supposedly had

If I pay cops $75K per year with lucerative disability and pension cluases I expect them to know the difference between a gun and some one flipping them off

[rrneck]

3. It's easier said than done.

I think I read in the article the suspect told 911 he had a gun. He was fleeing police and (they say) he turned around and raised his hands as if he had a gun.

Try it yourself. Put your hand at your side and see how fast you can raise it to shoulder height. How hard do you think it would be to determine if there was a gun in your hand? In maybe one second? At night? After a high speed car chase and taunts to 911?

I expect the evidence to show a legal shoot.

[Travis_0004]

4. Low light, adrenelene running, I can see how a mistake can be made

There are some things you should do, and running from the cops is one of them. And when visibility is poor, definitely don't hold your hands up like you are going to shoot them.

I think this shooting will be ruled as justified, and I would agree with that from the video I saw.

[frylock]

6. sounds like a suicide by cop incident..

but 90 rounds seems a bit excessive and reckless to say the least.

[Cleita]

5. That's a new one. I once lived in LA and there were many car chases, even the most famous one

with OJ Simpson. I have never seen the LA cops have to shoot a driver. They usually were pretty patient about pursuing for hours until the perp ran out of gas or cornered himself somewhere.

[proud patriot]

7. how awful

[astonamous]

8. I happened to be watching this live...

the news helicopter didn't back off fast enough and I watched as police killed the young man. That is an image that will last for a lifetime.

There were businesses that had broken windows/bullet holes in their buildings along side the freeway. They also said the young man told 911 dispatch that he wanted to stop but needed to get something out of his trunk and was afraid the police would shoot him. The 911 call recording hasn't been released yet.

Two nights ago there was another chase, another capture and shooting by police. However, the cops used pepper bullets (?). It took 4 or 5 officers to subdue this guy and he was still giving them grief after being handcuffed and placed in the back of the squad car.

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. "...he wanted to stop but needed to get something out of his trunk"

WTF? He also told 911 that he had a gun, but he didn't. This does not sound like a rational person. Sad.

[lob1]

10. I got stuck in the traffic jam only minutes after the shooting.

I didn't know what was going on because my radio doesn't work. They channeled 6 lanes of freeway into a single lane off ramp. It took nearly an hour and a half to go a half mile. I feel really sorry for the boy, but I don't know that the police were to blame (except for overkill). There's too much I don't know. The story doesn't make sense to me yet

[schmice]

11. You're focusing on the wrong thing

If the police fired between 90 and 120 rounds, and the kid was hit only 10 times (more or less), where did all the other bullets go? Those police officers should be taken off the field until they are re-certified on the shooting range. In fact, if those officers are representative of patrolmen at large, then every policeman should be tested and made to take the necessary courses until they can shoot straight. Too many lives of innocent bystanders are at risk.

As for this shooting itself, I think it was justified. The police showed great restraint especially when he turned toward them more than once with (what turned out later to be a cell phone). The cops waited until the hapless couple in the car stopped by the 19 year old were out of the line of fire. The cell phone could just as easily have been a small caliber handgun with a short barrel.

The demand asking for $120 million is ludicrous but it is only meant to get their attention. It obviously has. The reason for a suit like this should be to fix the problem of keystone cops scoring with less than 10% accuracy.

[ellisonz]

12. That's the LA Times headline...

...Also, if you want improved shooting skills you have to find a way to pay for it, and so I propose additional taxation on public ammunition sales to fund such training and evaluation.