A hard-to-watch demonstration of extremely poor policing shows an LAPD officer open fire from inside his vehicle on an unarmed, noncompliant suspect in the Los Angeles Southwest Division. While law enforcement is not an easy job and may require split-second life or death decisions, if you're not willing to assume some risk associated with the job, then you need to find a new line of work. The suspect ended up being in possession of a car part, not a gun, and at no point during the incident did he point it threateningly at any of the officers. Additionally, one of the officers already confirmed that the object was not a gun prior to the officer involved shooting. The officer that fired on the suspect from inside his cruiser broke LAPD policy which explicitly prohibits firing from moving vehicles, except under exigent circumstances.

Was the suspect an idiot for acting in such a manner? Absolutely. Is carrying a gun (or anything that even remotely resembles a gun) near a police officer a justifiable death sentence? Absolutely not.

Because this officer-involved-shooting is so controversial, we left in the entire police media release video without editing to give the viewer as much information as is available.

From the report: On July 18, 2022, at around 7:20 p.m., Southwest Division patrol officers received an “Assault with a Deadly Weapon” radio call. The reporting party advised Communications Division that the suspect was armed with a black, semi-automatic handgun. Uniformed personnel observed the suspect matching the description listed in the comments of the radio call, walking on the north sidewalk of Martin Luther King Boulevard, just east of Bronson Avenue. Officers made contact with the suspect, who they believed was in possession of a handgun. The suspect refused to respond to officer’s verbal commands. As a uniformed supervisor arrived at scene, he also believed that the suspect was armed with a handgun. As the suspect walked away from the officers, he turned multiple times in their direction and pointed a black metallic object believed to be a firearm, which resulted in an Officer-Involved-Shooting (OIS). The suspect was struck by gunfire and taken into custody.

Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) paramedics responded to the scene and transported the suspect to a local hospital where he was listed in serious condition.

The suspect was later identified as 39-year-old Jermaine Petite, a resident of Los Angeles. No officers, victims, or bystanders were injured during this incident.

A six-inch, black metal latch actuator was recovered at scene.