L.A. deputies accidentally kill teen
LOS ANGELES — A teenager fatally shot by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in Palmdale early Thursday was accidentally killed as he tried to stop his aggressive dog from attacking the officers, according to an internal sheriff’s department memo.
The 17-year-old was struck in the chest as he tried to jump on the dog, said the memo, a copy of which was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. A deputy who had been bitten by the animal was also struck by a bullet fragment in the shooting.
In a news conference at the scene hours after the shooting, Capt. Christopher Bergner of the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said it appeared that both the teen and the deputy had been struck by “skip” rounds that had ricocheted off the ground when deputies fired at the charging animal.
“He may have been struck by one of the skip rounds in what we’re calling an extremely, extremely unfortunate incident,” Bergner said. “Our initial impression was (the deputies) didn’t even see the individual coming around from the side of the building.”
Authorities said deputies had gone to a home in on 10th Street East around 3:40 a.m. in response to a call about a loud party. As they arrived, a pit bull charged at them and bit one of the deputies in the left knee, Bergner said.
The teenager, who was the owner of the dog, tied up the animal to prevent it from attacking again. Meanwhile, the memo said, the deputies retreated from the home to call for a sergeant, who arrived and checked on the bitten deputy’s injuries.
At some point, the pit bull broke free and charged at the deputies again.
Bergner said the dog was a full grown male that weighed 60 to 65 pounds and was 5 to 7 feet away when the deputies opened fire. There was evidence that bullets struck the ground 6 to 8 feet away from them, Bergner said. The teen emerged from behind a building about 40 feet away, he said.
According to the memo, the two deputies shot at the pit bull “while the dog owner simultaneously tried to jump onto the dog to stop it from attacking deputy personnel.” The teen died later at Antelope Valley Hospital.
The deputy who had been bitten by the animal was struck by a bullet fragment. He was treated at another local hospital and was listed in stable condition. The dog was shot but survived, the memo said.