Grieving South LA family says LASD's alleged slow response may have cost woman's life
LOS ANGELES - The cell phone video is chilling. Community activist Dionne Leslie-Pullen was suddenly thrown in the role of trying to be a good Samaritan when she walked up on a car riddled with bullet holes.
Allegedly, a gang shooting broke out over a mistaken identity.
Inside the car, though, 22-year-old Raejonette Morgan, of South Los Angeles, who had just left her home to pick up a friend and head to another friend's home for dinner.
On July 2 around 7 p.m., that plan for the evening was cut short with Morgan's car punctured with bullets.
As Lewis-Pullen came up on the scene streaming live, she could be heard screaming into the car window, "You OK? They still breathing! She's still breathing. Can you help her? Please help this girl. We need help break a window."
When there was no help, even though a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy was right there, Dionne Leslie-Pullen took off her shoe and banged out the window because at that moment 22-year-old Morgan was still alive.
The good Samaritan says there were no words from Morgan's lips but arm gestures. She was gesturing for help.
At a news conference outside a south LA Sheriff station, activist Najee Ali demanded, "This family deserves justice."
Supporters called for swift action in finding who fired the shots into the car that took the 22-year-old woman's life, but also into the deputies’ actions – or inactions – as the family sees it.
"I love my daughter so much and this wasn't supposed to happen to her. I'm going to demand that we get justice for what happened to her and the officers that were involved... they need to step aside. We need some investigation," said Morgan’s mother, Anginette, during a press conference.
LASD said it is running a critical incident review of the incident, which includes investigating the deputy’s response, equipment, training and tactics to see if SOPs were followed.
"I don't want her death to go in vain even though she'll always be here in my heart," Anginette Morgan said.
The famliy has set up a fundraising account if you'd like to help. Meanwhile, the search continues for leads on who shot the South LA woman.