LAPD officers, not the suspect carrying AK-47, shot robbery victims: Lawsuit
LAPD officers shot robbery victims, lawsuit claims
Two men are suing the Los Angeles Police Department after they say officers shot them, despite the fact that they were being robbed at gunpoint.
LOS ANGELES - Two robbery victims end up shot, not by the AK-47-wielding suspect, they say, but by LAPD officers. Indeed, body-worn camera video from Dec. 28, 2024, shows Southeast area officers stumbling onto three men struggling over a rifle and a knife on 114th Street.
As the officers approach, you hear one of the men on the ground screaming, "He has a gun." That man spoke to us on camera, saying that night, he was with a friend when the man with the weapon tried to rob them.
His attorney, Luis Carrillo, shares video from a security camera where you can see that happening, and the two men quickly jump on and try to subdue the man with the gun. That's when officers stumble onto the scene and, seemingly not knowing who is who, end up shooting both victims, chasing the armed suspect, and shooting him as well before taking him into custody.
None of the injuries were fatal, and LAPD did release the body cam video, saying the response is under investigation. The department made a point of also releasing video from officers who, once they realize the two men are victims, are trying to apply a tourniquet and get an ambulance to them.
To the point that officers did not know what they were walking into, Carrillo says they are trained to do things differently. He points out that no officer ever identified themselves as law enforcement as they walked up to the struggling men. "Why not try to diffuse the situation before starting to shoot?" asks Carrillo, whose office represents the men in what is headed to a civil lawsuit.
No comment from LAPD on the lawsuit, but we are including the videos released by the department.
The suspect has been identified as Kevin Doby, no age given by LAPD, who do say investigators recovered a loaded AK-47, ammunition, and a folding knife. The LA County DA has filed charges against him, including armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.