Answers sought in fatal police shooting

Activists on Sunday called on Los Angeles police to publicly name the officers involved in the deadly shooting of an 18-year-old black mannear hishomeandto conduct a quick and transparent investigation.

“We don’t want to see a cover-up. We don’t want to see a whitewash,” Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable said after meeting with the family of Carnell Snell Jr. “We have a family that’s grieving. We have a community that’s grieving.”

The shooting occurred on Saturday afternoon. Los Angeles police say they tried to pull over a car with paper license plates at about 1 pm. After a short chase the driver and a passenger got out and fled. The passenger ran in back of a house, where he was shot. The driver escaped.

The coroner’s office confirmed on Sunday that Snell was the man killed. His family lives in another house in the front of the property where the shooting occurred. A back gate there was riddled with six bullet holes.

Police have disclosed little about their investigation other than to say a handgun was found at the scene. It was not clear if Snell was carrying it.

In a statement, the LAPD said investigators will gather evidence related to the shooting to determine whether deadly force was necessary and the district attorney’s office will review it to see if any criminal charges are warranted.

Snellwasthethirdblackman in five days to die in confrontations with police in Southern California. Last Tuesday, Alfred Olango was fatally shot by an officer in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, triggering three days of angry and sometimes violent protests. Olango was shot when he took a “shooting stance” and pointed at an officer withwhatturned out to be a 4-inchvapepen— anelectronic cigarette device.

On Friday, Reginald Thomas died after being shot with a Taser by police in Pasadena. Hewasarmedwith a knifeand his wife describedhimas mentally ill. His brother told a 911 dispatcher that Thomas was high and had a history of violence.