Dramatic new video released in LAPD shooting of man thought to have a gun in South LA
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A dramatic new video was just released of a police shooting in South Los Angeles.
LAPD officers responded to reports from witnesses of a man with a gun last month, but what was he really carrying?
The video, recorded from an LAPD vehicle, captured a tense scene after officers spotting a man who they believe was armed with a gun. Moments later, the officers confronted him and opened fire.
"You might have to shoot, you might have to shoot," you could hear of the officers say in the video, followed almost immediately by the sound of gunfire.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. on March 29. LAPD officers responded to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Avalon Boulevard in South L.A. after citizens reported a man armed with a gun.
"The comments indicated there was a male adult armed with a handgun pointing that gun at passing vehicles," said LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar.
Surveillance camera video shows a man, identified as Jose Barrera, 45, walking along the street making erratic movements, pointing something in his hand at a building.
Authorities say customers inside a restaurant thought he was threatening them with a gun.
"When patrol officers arrived to the area they saw Barrera on the sidewalk pointing what they believed was a handgun at an occupant of a nearby vehicle which was stopped," said LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz.
That's when the officer-involved shooting happened. The encounter was recorded on bodycam video.
Barrera fell to the ground, wounded by police gunfire. Officers moved in and took a bloody Barrera into custody. He was hospitalized for treatment and later released.
Photos show Barrera's cell phone on the sidewalk. It was recovered by investigators. The 45-year-old did not have a gun.
A case was presented to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office accusing Barrera of assault with a deadly weapon, but the DA decided not to press charges.
