Police officers who shot and killed men in two separate weekend shootings were justified in their use of deadly force because they feared for their lives, the Los Angeles police chief says.
Carnell Snell, 18, turned toward officers with a gun before he was shot, and the other, a Hispanic man who still hasn't been identified, pointed a replica that looked like a real gun at police, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Monday.
The shootings come amid heightened tensions over police actions involving black people and other minorities across the country.
In Snell's shooting, officers tried to pull over a car he was in Saturday because it had paper plates that didn't match the year of the vehicle — a possible indication of a stolen car and something commonly seen in drive-by shootings, Beck said.
Snell, seated in the back, looked at officers and then ducked down "as if to hide from them," Beck said.
When officers tried to pull the car over, Snell jumped out holding his waistband and the foot pursuit began, he said.
After a chase of several hundred yards, Beck said, Snell took a gun from his waistband and turned in the direction of the pursuing officers, prompting the shooting.
Snell died at the scene and police recovered a fully loaded semi-automatic gun with one round in the chamber within 5 feet of where Snell lay, Beck said, adding that the weapon had not been fired.
Beck did not say whether one or more officers fired, how close they were to Snell, or whether the car turned out to be stolen.
The officers were not wearing body cameras, but a surveillance video from a business clearly showed Snell was armed, Beck said.
The shooting occurred in a Los Angeles neighborhood where nearly 450 people have been shot this year, making it the worst in the city for gun violence, Beck said.
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