Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Police gunfire hurts 2, hits neighbors' homes
By Tonya Alanez and Monte Morin
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Ten Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies opened fire early yesterday on a sport-utility vehicle they were chasing, discharging 120 rounds in a frenzied crossfire that injured a deputy and the unarmed suspect while sending bullets into nearby homes.
The shooting on a narrow residential street in Compton sent residents diving for cover as bullets zipped over their heads and through their windows. In the aftermath, bullet holes pocked the walls of at least five homes.
Sheriff Lee Baca pledged a full investigation into the incident, which was caught on videotape. "The aspect of shooting in an urban area is problematic and dangerous under all circumstances," he said.
Internal-affairs investigators are trying to determine whether the gunfire was a case of "contagious fire," meaning that some deputies incorrectly believed their colleagues' shots were coming from the suspect, prompting them to open fire. Neighborhood residents said the deputies put their lives in jeopardy.
"This is crazy — really, really crazy," said Trina Hays, 42, who dived onto her lawn when the shooting erupted 20 feet away. "They didn't have any concern for anybody's life, including their own. That's why their own police officer got hit. ... They could have just sat there and waited it out, but they opened fire."
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