Los Angeles News

INGLEWOOD An Inglewood police officer shot and killed a homeless man Sunday in the fourth shooting involving an Inglewood officer in as many months, a police lieutenant said.

Officers responded to a report of a man with a gun in the 400 block of Market Street, near Hillcrest Boulevard, at 1:47 p.m., said Inglewood police Lt. Gabriela Garcia.

The officers found two men, one of whom had what appeared to be a chrome handgun tucked into his waistband, and told them to put their hands up, Garcia said.

One of the men immediately complied, and was detained without further incident. The other man refused to obey, she said.

Officers used a "less lethal" weapon, which was ineffective, she said.

The man allegedly reached for his waistband, and the officers "engaged the subject, resulting in an officer-involved shooting," Garcia said.

Officers later determined the apparent gun was a toy, she said.

The man was taken to UCLA Medical Center and pronounced dead at 2:50 p.m., said Investigator Jerry McKibben of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

The Inglewood Police Department is conducting separate criminal and administrative investigations of the shooting, and the District Attorney's Office is conducting an independent investigation, she said.

A representative from the county Office of Independent Review responded and will be consulting with both investigations, she added.

The police department is already under investigation by the county Office of Independent Review and is facing a $25 million civil lawsuit in connection with earlier officer-involved shootings.

Two Inglewood officers involved in a May 11 shooting in which 19-year-old Michael Byoune was killed and two others wounded at a restaurant near Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street were returned to active duty by Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks.

On July 1, Ruben Walton Ortega, a 23-year-old alleged gang member, was fatally shot by Inglewood police.

Kevin Wicks, 38, was shot to death by Inglewood police Officer Brian Ragan at about 12:20 a.m. July 21 after four officers went to his door in response to a report of an argument involving a man and two women.

Inglewood police said Wicks, a 19-year employee of the U.S. Postal Service in West Los Angeles, answered the door with a gun in his hand and raised it toward the officers, prompting the gunfire.

But relatives and community activists said officers responded to the wrong apartment and that if Wicks was holding a gun, it was likely only for his safety since he lived in a dangerous neighborhood and was responding to a knock on his door around midnight.

Adding to the outrage over Wicks' death was the fact that Ragan, a five-year department veteran, was one of the two officers involved in the May 11 shooting of Byoune.

Wicks' daughter, Milan, and her mother, Lashawn Brown, announced plans to file a $25 million claim against Inglewood.

Police Chief Seabrooks said a full probe of the Wicks shooting would be one.

Following calls from community activists for a thorough review of the department's policies, the Inglewood City Council voted to contract with the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, an agency created to provide investigative oversight of the Sheriff's Department, to conduct a probe of the department.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney General calling for a federal investigation into the department.

Anyone with information about the latest shooting was asked to call Inglewood police at (310) 412-5246 or the anonymous hotline at (888) 41-CRIME (412-7463).

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)