Wild LAPD bodycam video shows robbery suspect jumping off apartment building
WARNING: The above video is graphic in nature and may be considered disturbing for some viewers.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department has released wild body camera footage, showing a robbery suspect jumping off the roof of a South Los Angeles apartment building before he was shot by police. Shockingly, the man survived.
It happened back on Sept. 15, after officers were called out to the 1100 block of E. 33rd Street in South LA for reports that a group of men broke into an apartment, tied up someone inside and stole his car keys.
When police got to the scene, they found two of the four suspects — identified as Justice Lockhard and Aaron Flenoy — and took them into custody.
A third suspect, identified as Jeffrey Askew, was seen from an LAPD air unit on the roof of the apartment building. Body camera footage released Sunday showed officers' view as Askew then jumped off the building, onto a shorter building below, and then plummeting to the ground.
From there, body camera video shows the officers approaching Askew to arrest him, shouting orders at him, asking him to "Don't move," and "don't reach for your waistband." Seconds later, officers shot Askew both with service guns and less than lethal rounds.
The LAPD shared images as officers approached Askew, showing him holding a small hammer in his hand. According to the department, officers believed Askew was holding a gun, and that's why he was shot.
After the shooting, LAPD said they were still searching for a fourth robbery suspect, so officers took Askew out of the area to Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. Askew was treated for his wounds and brought to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
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Minutes later, that fourth suspect, identified as Daiyann Henderson, arrested after police said he'd changed his clothes and tried to leave the area.
All four suspects were changed with one count of home invasion robbery, one count of residential burglary, and one count of felony offense against a person over 65 years of age. Flenoy and Henderson were also charged with personal use of a firearm during a felony, according to the LAPD.
The LAPD's Force Investigation Division are investigating the shooting, which will then be forwarded to Chief Michel Moore, the Board of Police Commissioners and the Inspector General's office to review the officers' use of force.
The full LAPD video briefing can be viewed here.