Suspect in reportedly stolen car shot by police in DTLA after reaching for apparent gun, LAPD says

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A suspect in a reportedly stolen car was shot by police after he did not comply with officers' commands and reached for what LAPD described as an apparent handgun.

The incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Friday when officers tracked down a reportedly stolen Nissan Sentra near 8th Street and Gladys Avenue.

Police said there were two men inside the Nissan. When officers told them to exit the vehicle, the driver cooperated but the passenger did not.

Police opened fire when the man in the passenger seat seemed to reach for an apparent handgun, LAPD said.

"The front passenger was non compliant. He began manipulating items that were in front of him in the car, one of which was an apparent handgun, and an officer-involved shooting happened at that time," said LAPD Capt. Michael Bland.

That man was taken to the hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The driver was arrested.

No officers were wounded in the incident. The apparent weapon was taken into evidence to be analyzed, police said.

"We do acknowledge a significant increase in officer-involved shootings this year," Bland said.

According to the LAPD, as of Dec. 8, there have been 43 officer-involved shootings, 33 in which the suspect was struck by gunfire. This compares with 26 such shootings at this point last year.

"With that officer-involved shooting increase, there's also an increase in the dangers and violence our officers are facing," Bland said.

The LAPD says more and more officers are engaging armed suspects.

"Officers are facing individuals with increased frequency who have handguns who are shooting at them - replica firearms or any other weapon that can cause serious bodily injury or death," Bland said.

Bland said split-second decisions must be made, because an officer engaging a suspect with a gun has next to no time to determine if he's looking down the barrel of a real or replica gun.

"Those replica handguns or items that appear to be handguns are nearly indistinguishable from real firearms in rapidly escalating tense situations for officers. They are confronted with these dangers and violence and they have to make split-second life-or-death decisions for either them or their partners or the community members that we're out there serving," Bland said.