Death ‘happened so fast’
Witness says 18-year-old ran from LAPD before officer shot and killed him in South L.A.
A man who witnessed Tuesday’s deadly police shooting in South L.A. said he saw an 18-year-old run from an officer before he was shot, then saw a gun near his body.
The witness, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he was inside his house Tuesday afternoon when he heard someone outside yell, “Freeze!” Looking out his window, he said he saw a young man running from an officer on a motorcycle.
He watched the 18-yearold duck into a small, deadend driveway on Century Boulevard, then turn back toward the street as if to keep running. The officer, the witness said, was close behind on the motorcycle.
Then, the witness said, he heard three gunshots as the officer jumped off the motorcycle and the teen fell in the driveway. The witness said he then saw the officer kick a chrome handgun away from the teenager.
“It happened so fast,” the man said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys run from the cops. When you hear the shots, you go, ‘Oh. They shot him.’ ”
The dead man was identified Wednesday as Kenney Watkins. Coroner’s officials said he died at the scene.
Police said the shooting occurred about 3:30 p.m. when the officer stopped a car near the intersection of Century and Figueroa Street. Watkins was a passenger in that car, the LAPD said, and at one point got out of the vehicle.
The officer told investigators he fired at Watkins because he saw the 18-year-old start to turn toward him while holding a gun, said Det. Meghan Aguilar, an LAPD spokeswoman.
One woman, who didn’t see the shooting, said she was inside her home when she heard someone yell, “Get down! Get down!” Then she heard three gunshots.
When she looked out her window, she said, Watkins was down in the driveway. She watched as police swarmed the scene, later covering his body with a white sheet. “He died right there,” she said.
The woman, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she saw a shiny gun in the driveway. The LAPD said two handguns were found at the scene.
When asked about the guns, a lawyer who attended a vigil for Watkins with the teen’s mother Wednesday evening said they were skeptical of the police account and would investigate what happened themselves. “We are going to question everything,” attorney Caree Harper said.
Watkins was the 16th person shot by on-duty LAPD officers this year, according to data compiled by The Times. Thirteen were killed.
Police have not said what prompted the officer to stop the car, which sped away as the shooting unfolded.
The LAPD was still looking for the car Wednesday, Aguilar said. She described the vehicle as a darkcolored, four-door sedan with tinted windows. The car had no front license plate but might have had a paper plate in the back, she added.
The officer who shot Watkins works in the LAPD’s Valley Traffic division, Aguilar said, but was working in South L.A. as part of the department’s efforts to curb violent crime in some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods.
The deadly encounter came a week after the police shooting of Jesse Romero, a 14-year-old in Boyle Heights. Police say Romero had a gun and fired at officers before he was shot and killed.
Watkins’ mother, Prescious Sasser, said her son was known for his smile from the day he was born, the day after Mother’s Day. His birthday “was like a double gift,” she said — a special day for him, but also for her as his mother.
Sasser said her son was involved in his church. He ran track in the Junior Olympics in Baltimore. He walked in South L.A.’s Kingdom Day parade. He was almost done with school — he attended Duke Ellington Continuation High School.
“He just had that winning smile and personality,” Sasser said, her eyes teary.