美国国家公共电台 NPR New Policy In LA Cracks Down On Problem Of Police Shooting At Moving Cars

New Policy In LA Cracks Down On Problem Of Police Shooting At Moving Cars 

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Some police in Southern California face questions about the way they use deadly force. They are sheriff's deputies in Los Angeles County. Our member station KPCC investigated the LA County Sheriff's Department. Deputies have sometimes opened fire on drivers in vehicles, and the investigation 2 found that almost every driver shot by deputies was unarmed. As we'll hear, one was being treated for mental illness. Some people will find this story, which lasts about four minutes, disturbing. Here's reporter Annie Gilbertson.

ANNIE GILBERTSON, BYLINE 3: All around John Berry are sheriffs' patrol cars, blocking him from driving away. He sits in his BMW on his home street in Lakewood, a city south of Los Angeles. Seven deputies are out swarming 4 the vehicle. A neighbor recorded the scene on her smartphone.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Come on, Johnny. Come on out, Johnny.

GILBERTSON: John's in the middle of a schizophrenic episode. His brother Chris Berry says he was not armed, he wasn't dangerous. In fact, Chris called deputies for help, maybe get his brother to a psychiatric hospital. So Chris was shocked when officers pulled out a baton 5 then taser.

CHRIS BERRY: They were way too aggressive with somebody who doesn't necessarily understand what's going on.

GILBERTSON: Suddenly, John's car lurches forward then back. The deputies declined to comment for this story, but told investigators 6 they were scared they'd be run over. That's why they shoot.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Johnny.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

GILBERTSON: Chris Berry says there was no reason to shoot and kill John. His brother suffered from a severe mental illness.

BERRY: I've known my brother long enough. He didn't mean to hurt anybody. He was terrified.

GILBERTSON: John Berry's case from 2015 raises a lot of issues. Among them is a tactical one we don't often hear about. Should officers shoot a person if they're afraid of being run over or should they just get out of the way? The Los Angeles Police Department has cracked down on the practice and virtually eliminated shooting at moving cars. But an investigation by KPCC found in at least eight instances over a five-year period, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies shot an unarmed driver or passenger. The deputies said they feared being run over.

TODD ROGERS: In most cases, it really doesn't make a lot of sense.

GILBERTSON: Todd Rogers is assistant LA sheriff. He says the shootings in KPCC's investigation are justified 8. But he also agrees with a growing number of law enforcement leaders, who say injuring someone behind the wheel can make the situation more dangerous.

ROGERS: Chances are, you're not going to kill the vehicle. You're not going to stop the vehicle. And it's still going to be moving forward, and whatever's in its path is going to get hit.

GILBERTSON: Say you hit your target, the driver. Suddenly, you've got an unmanned, 3,000-pound vehicle tearing down the streets of Los Angeles County, and you could hit a bystander. In 2005, LA sheriff's deputies unloaded 120 rounds on an unarmed man in a Chevy Tahoe in Compton. Bullets reportedly sprayed five neighborhood homes. One bullet was found two blocks away, lodged 9 into the wall of an elementary school. That's when the LA Sheriff's Department wrote a new policy discouraging firing at moving vehicles, but the shootings continued. Again, Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers.

ROGERS: We're probably shooting at moving vehicles too much because it's not an effective tactic 7, not because the deputies aren't legally justified to do so.

ROGERS: Legally justified, Rogers says, because deputies are allowed to shoot when they fear for their life. Among the cases KPCC examined, two suspects had guns. But in all other cases, the weapon was the car itself. Sean Van Leeuwen is vice 10 president of the deputy's union. He has a solution.

SEAN VAN LEEUWEN: Training, training, training.

GILBERTSON: In fact, it's Van Leeuwen's job as a field training officer to teach deputies how to handle threats.

VAN LEEUWEN: When was the last time you trained us on how to shoot at a moving vehicle or how to avoid shooting in a moving vehicle? The answer will be probably never.

GILBERTSON: The sheriff's department has since made a change. After KPCC's original investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department released a training video. It teaches deputies that shooting at cars is dangerous. The department also updated its policy to frankly 11 state, don't shoot at drivers, don't shoot at tires. Unless another weapon is present, stop shooting into cars. For NPR News, I'm Annie Gilbertson in Los Angeles.