Prosecutors clear police in fatal shooting of man

LONG BEACH — Los Angeles County prosecutors have decided police were justified in the deadly shooting of a reputed gang member they said lunged at them with a knife despite a police dog biting his arm and an officer firing rubber rounds at him.

A Long Beach officer fatally shot Barry Prak after a day-long standoff in June 2016. His death sparked protests in the city south of Los Angeles.

The district attorney’s office said Tuesday that investigators concluded that the officer who pulled the trigger acted in self-defense.

The DA’s office says a neighbor recorded the incident and the video corroborates police and witness accounts of what happened.

The Press-Telegram newspaper reports the standoff began when federal authorities tried to arrest the 27-year-old Prak on an outstanding warrant related to a 2014 shooting.