LAPD found justified in shooting of actor-report\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n<\/p>
Tuesday October 23 4:05 PM ET<\/b> <\/p>\r\nLAPD found justified in shooting of actor-report\r\n \r\n
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles police officer who shot and killed\r\nan actor brandishing a fake gun at a Halloween party last year was justified,\r\na Los Angeles Police Department internal review board has found, according\r\nto a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\r\n
The board concluded that Officer Tarriel Hopper, 28, thought the toy .357\r\nMagnum carried by actor Anthony Dwain Lee, 39, a guest at an upscale Bel\r\nAir party last October, was real, and he feared for his life, the Times reported,\r\nciting unnamed police sources.<\/p>\r\n
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment\r\non the report Tuesday. ``We don't reveal the results of confidential internal\r\nreviews,'' said LAPD Sgt. John Pasquariello.<\/p>\r\n
The board recommended to Police Chief Bernard Parks that Hopper's action\r\nbe found ``in policy,'' meaning that the four-year LAPD veteran should receive\r\nno disciplinary action for firing nine shots through a window into a residence, \r\nkilling Lee, the Times reported.<\/p>\r\n
Lee was shot in the back as he stood with friends in an upscale mansion,\r\nautopsy results showed.<\/p>\r\n
Although the board was unable to find fault with Hopper's actions it recommended\r\nthat he receive additional training to improve his police skills.<\/p>\r\n
Chief Parks had the option of accepting the findings or drafting a new\r\nopinion. Parks forwarded the case to the Los Angeles Police Commission, a\r\nfive member civilian panel that oversees the department's policies, Pasquariello\r\nsaid.<\/p>\r\n
The panel was meeting Tuesday behind closed doors and was expected to\r\napprove the recommendations Tuesday afternoon, commission spokeswoman Tamryn\r\nCatania said.<\/p>\r\n
Lee's sister, Tina Lee-Vogt, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hopper\r\nand the LAPD last year, charging that the shooting was unjustified.<\/p>\r\n
Lee-Vogt is represented by attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jr., who led the\r\nso-called ``Dream Team'' of lawyers that won an acquittal on murder charges\r\nfor ``Trial of the Century'' defendant O.J. Simpson in 1995.<\/p>\r\n
Reuters\/Variety REUTERS<\/p>\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"A Los Angeles police officer who shot and killed actor Anthony Dwain Lee as he brandished a fake gun at a noisy Halloween party last year was justified in his use of deadly force the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled October 23, 2001. The commission, which oversees the department, decided that Officer Tarriel Hopper thought the toy .357 Magnum was real.","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2001\/10\/peopl2l9ay6.html","filesize":"2.5 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2001\/10\/12244.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}