State to investigate LBPD’s fatal shooting of man accused of home-invasion robbery with replica gun
Police say they believed the man was armed with a gun before an officer shot him. They later discovered the firearm was fake.
The California Department of Justice announced Sunday that it will investigate the Long Beach Police Department’s fatal shooting of a man accused of carrying out a home-invasion robbery in the Hamilton neighborhood Friday night.
LBPD says the suspect was carrying a weapon, which they later discovered was a replica gun when at least one officer opened fire on him.
“When an officer-involved shooting occurs, transparent and open communication is critical to maintain public trust,” Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said, which said it will review the case and make its findings available to the public “as soon as feasible.”
Historically, incidents involving a police officer fatally shooting an unarmed civilian were investigated by local law enforcement agencies and between California’s 58 district attorneys, state officials said.
But a new law passed in 2020, known as Assembly Bill 1506, requires the state attorney to look into fatal police shootings of a person not in possession of a deadly weapon to determine the legality of the officer’s actions.
Long Beach police have not explained what prompted an officer to shoot at the suspect in Friday's incident.
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Just after 8:30 p.m. a man, reportedly armed with a gun, entered a home in the 6800 block of Cerritos Avenue, police said. Officers were called to the area, where they learned a home-invasion robbery had occurred, and that a suspect was still in the yard, police said.
Authorities surrounded the home and attempted to get the suspect to surrender for more than an hour. The man reportedly refused, prompting Long Beach police to call a SWAT team, according to the department.
SWAT officers were preparing to take control of the scene when at least one LBPD officer shot the man once in the upper body, police said.
The man was treated by paramedics at the scene and was then taken to a local hospital, where he died. Authorities have not yet identified the man.
The involved officers were using body-worn cameras. The footage will eventually be available to the public after it's reviewed by the department, as is required by state law.
