Sheriff's deputies say it was Saturday night when a 17-year-old boy ran from deputies in Lynwood. They say he pulled a handgun out of his waistband and pointed it at them. That's when they fatally shot him.
Early Sunday morning, a deputy was shot in the leg in a shootout with a man believed to have robbed a taco truck. The man was killed.
Later that morning, a man resisted arrest at an Imperial Highway motel. That man was fatally wounded when he tried to draw a gun from his waistband.
"[All three] in various parts of the county were gang members," said /*Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca*/. "All three were given ample notice that they needed to stop and surrender and cooperate. All three chose not to."
But a week ago, deputies in Athens saw 26-year-old /*Darrick Collins*/ and tried to question him, and he ran up a driveway. The deputy thought he was armed and fired three shots, hitting Collins three times and killing him. Collins was unarmed. He was not the suspect deputies were searching for.
"That's more important than ever that Sheriff Baca and top officials in the sheriff's department to quickly expedite his own expedited investigation," said /*Earl Ofari Hutchinson*/, president, /*Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable*/.
Sheriff Baca believes he can cut shooting investigations down from more than a year to less than three months.
"I believe I can try and get this down under 90 days, but 90 days, quite frankly, is not unreasonable," said Sheriff Baca.
Baca has started a review of department shooting policies and the tactics used by deputies in the shootings.
"We're not banging on the sheriff's department, but we are concerned about the increased number of shootings," said Lita Herron, /*Youth Advocacy Coalition*/.
The special panel put together by the sheriff is expected to make recommendations this week.
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