This footage is a compilation of body camera recordings of an OIS incident from the Hollenbeck Division of Los Angeles Police Department. 32-year-old Jonathan Magana, a parolee under investigation for extortion, fled from Narcotics officers in the area, prompting the K9 team to initiate a search. One of the dogs alerted the team that Magana was in the downstairs portion of a multi-unit structure, which was under construction/renovation. As the officers make entry and search the home, they find Magana feigning sleep/unresponsiveness, in order to bait them into an ambush. They try non-lethal means to extricate Magana, and a gunfight ensues, with several officers shot. Professionally speaking, there's a lot to unpack here, so I'm going to break this into "chapters."

0:00 Entry- LAPD K9 knocks and announces their presence at the building. Note that they are already wearing helmets, in contrast to many responding officers recently depicted nationwide. This will be important later. At 0:34, the LAPD K9 is released into the structure, and the officers immediately begin assessing the rooms and entryways. The dog alerts that the suspect is downstairs, prompting the officers to make entry.

01:22 Spotted- the officers locate Magana, pretending to be asleep or otherwise unresponsive on a bed in a small room with attached bathroom. They consider non-lethal options, bringing an officer with a Taser to the fore as they address the suspect. At 01:58, an officer uses a rake to punch out sections of drywall in order to create clear lines of sight on Magana. The officers move very methodically, discussing the plan as it evolves without being baited by Magana. At 02:54, an officer issues verbal commands to Magana, warning him to come out of the room. He incorrectly identifies the suspect as "Marco."

03:29 Beanbags- At 03:48, the K9 officers announce over the radio that they are going to fire a beanbag round as a warning shot, using a shotgun. At 04:06, they fire into one of the high corners of the room. The suspect is told that the next one fired will not be a warning shot. The suspect remains uncooperative and unresponsive. Despite the disclaimer, the second round at 05:33 is also a warning, and also ineffective.

05:43 CS Gas- The officers are now seen wearing gas masks as they prepare to flush the suspect out using a chemical agent. While it is not specifically described in the report, I strongly suspect CS gas is used. At 06:03, the first canister is deployed, followed by a second at 06:10. This finally provokes a response from Magana, who is prompted at 06:13 to show his hands. Instead, he flees further into the building.

07:25 Officer 1- An officer moves forward to deploy another two canisters of gas. He is in the midst of throwing the second, at 07:33, when the suspect opens fire. The officer flees the building, tripping as he exits. Behind him, some of the officers are exfiltrating while others return fire. It is chaos, as we will see from the pserspectives of several of the officers. As other footage will show, in the panic, he accidentally knocks officer 3, below, to the ground. At 07:50, officers are depicted firing rounds at the suspect from the exterior of the building, including the officer using this bodycam. Now sidelined, he watches the other officers call commands to the suspect.

08:21 Officer 2- This second officer is wielding an AR-style rifle. He takes fire at 08:35 as Officer 1 deploys the gas. Wounded, he falls into a supine position in the corner, but continues to fire at the suspect with one hand. At 09:05, he calls for extraction, letting his team know he's been hit.

09:22 Officer 3- This officer is behind Officer 1 as he throws the canister. As the gunfire breaks out, he is effectively tackled by Officer 1 at 09:38 as he flees the building. Officer 1 may be late for his Blue Falcon award ceremony. Despite being knocked to the ground, Officer 3 returns fire with a handgun before regaining his feet and exfiltrating. At 09:57, he is led to the sidelines for medical treatment, exclaiming that he has been hit. He is treated by other officers who are holding the perimeter.

10:11 Officer 4- This is one of the officers earlier seen putting rounds through the exterior wall and door. He does so here at 10:38. At 10:49 he runs the gun to lockback, reloading before posting up at the main door at 10:58. Adrenaline and stress rear their ugly heads as, despite reloading, he apparently forgets to send the slide forward, holding the door from behind Officer 6 with a gun that won't fire.

11:24 Officer 5- From this officer's perspective we get the best view of Officer 1's collision with Officer 3. While we can't specifically determine whether that traffic jam is what caused Officer 3 to be shot, it's clearly evident that it did not help. As Officer 1 crawls out the doorway, leaving Officer 3 behind, Officer 5 follows him and tries to catch Officer 1, which results in him tripping in the doorway threshold at 11:46. Officer 5 takes up Officer 4's position as 4 conducts the half-reload described above.

12:31 Officer 6- Officer 6 is in the front-right corner of the room from which Officer 1 deploys the gas. He flees, and proceeds to flag other officers as they exfil at 12:51. At 12:58, he points his pistol at what appears to be Officer 5's head during his fall. After action reports reveal that an officer's helmet deflected a round from another officer's hangun . I believe it happened in this instance. A second contender for the Blue Falcon. Officer 6 reports that he took a round in the vest.

13:41 Officer 7- Officer 7 holds the doorway at 14:03 as the other officers tumble out. When his lane is clear, he begins firing through the interior walls at the suspect from the outer doorway. He takes the doorway as Officer 6 seeks medical attention.

14:48 Officer 8- This section takes place in the aftermath, as the officers are accounting for the wounded. He and another officer advance into the building, to retrieve Officer 2. Although Officer 2 is still fixated on the suspect, we see the other officers performing a buddy-drag at 15:25 to get him clear of the building. Officer 2 reports that he has been hit in the left arm and somewhere in the body.

16:03 Officer 9- Another officer discovers Officer 9 has been hit at 16:20 and sends him to the perimeter. One of the other officers at the doorway delays this somewhat by trying to maintain an accounting of the officers.

16:28 Suspect- The wounded having been treated and extracted, the situation seems to calm as the officers form a plan to place the suspect into custody, "nice and slow." The suspect is depicted on the ground, unresponsive, at 17:27. Handing his rifle to a fellow officer, this officer assists another in placing handcuffs on Magana. In the confined space, they opt to cuff him hands-front.

After Action: The suspect, Jonathan Magana, was pronounced deceased on-scene. A Polymer-80 and Glock 43 were recovered, along with an extended magazine, all loaded. As of March 09, 2023, 2 of the 3 wounded officers were released from the hospital, with the 3rd remaining in stable condition. As mentioned above, it was discovered that one of the officer's helmets had saved their life, having prevented a blue-on-blue tragedy.

About the Author

Cole Simms

Cole Simms is an Air Guardsman, NASA enthusiast, police officer, and security contractor with particular experience in austere environments. Outside of work, he volunteers as a Stop The Bleed instructor for area schools. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and blends his knowledge and experience to write analysis for Funker530.