ILLEGAL ALIEN FATHER GETS DAUGHTER KILLED

[Skip]

Which officer shot girl can't be known

Probe fails to find definitive evidence.

The toddler was killed as her father (ILLEGAL ALIEN) held her in a gun battle with police.

By Patrick McGreevy and Richard Winton, Times Staff Writers

November 28, 2006



Remembering
click to enlarge http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-11/26622183.jpg

[b]Graphic Breakdown of standoff click to enlarge [b]
http://link.toolbot.com/latimes.com/25459

So many bullets were discharged during a siege last year at a South Los Angeles auto shop that investigators cannot determine which LAPD officer fired the shot that killed 19-month-old Suzie Peña, Chief William J. Bratton said Monday.

The finding, which follows a 15-month investigation that used outside weapons experts, complicates the Police Commission's task today in deciding whether the officers should be disciplined.

Suzie Peña was shot twice as her father held her in front of him as he exchanged gunfire with Los Angeles police officers in July 2005. The fatal shot hit Suzie in the head but did not lodge there. Investigators could not determine which of the bullet fragments they found had hit her.

Her death set off a debate about Los Angeles Police Department tactics, prompting investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and calls for better rules on how SWAT officers respond to hostage standoffs.

Bratton described the investigation as one of the most complex in the department's history. It involved microscopic analysis of about 130 bullets and more than 100 casings involving 13 firearms, and more than 80 interviews of witnesses and 36 DNA tests.

"The issue is, can we with any definitiveness determine who fired the fatal shot," Bratton told The Times. "The subsequent investigation has not been able to make a more definitive determination. That's unfortunate, but that's pretty much where we are with it."

Figuring out which of 13 officers who fired shots actually killed Suzie is a key question both for the LAPD and the family's attorneys, who are suing the department. By identifying the officer, they could determine where he or she was standing, figure out his or her vantage point, and assess whether proper tactics were used.

The Police Commission will decide today whether any of the officers involved in the standoff violated department policies. Without being able to link Suzie's death to a specific officer, however, officials said, it would be difficult to build a case against any individual.

LAPD sources who are familiar with the investigation said the detectives who examined the incident broke it down into three distinct stages that the commission will examine.

It began when Jose Raul Peña's 16-year-old stepdaughter called police to say that her father had a gun and was threatening to kill her. Officers responded, and during a brief gun battle with Peña were able to rescue the stepdaughter from the auto shop. The sources said investigators examined whether any officer failed to follow policy by initiating a crossfire in the direction of other officers.

The second segment occurred more than two hours into the standoff when an officer on top of an LAPD armored vehicle shot at Peña as the gun-wielding man held Suzie. Commissioners are expected to examine who gave the authority to fire, the sources said.

The final segment occurred when officers decided to storm the auto store. The officers found themselves in a small interior office of the shop, firing at Peña as he shot at them, Suzie still in his arms. One SWAT officer, Daniel Sanchez, was wounded; Suzie and her father were killed.

Sources said investigators were looking at why police decided to enter the building. In the days after the shooting, LAPD officials said they moved in because they thought that Peña was perhaps incapacitated.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the probe publicly, said it was possible that the commission could find some of the tactics used by the officers violated policy while upholding their actions in Suzie's death.

In an interview Monday, Bratton declined to reveal his recommendation to the commission.

He said it may be hard for some to understand how the investigation was unable to identify Suzie's shooter.

"Everybody likes closure, likes completion. Sometimes you are not able to get there," Bratton said. "We will not be able to make that determination. We have no ability to make a determination as to who fired that [fatal shot]."

The Police Commission is one of several panels and agencies looking into the Peña case. The district attorney's office plans to announce today whether it will file criminal charges related to the girl's death. The FBI and an LAPD board of inquiry also are reviewing the standoff.

At least four officers were carrying rifles. All of the rifle bullets were fired close to Peña and his daughter.

The complexity of the case "had to do with the sheer size of the incident, the number of officers, the number of shooting officers, the number of rounds fired, the circumstance," Bratton said.

Whatever the outcome of the commission meeting, Bratton said, Suzie's father was solely responsible for her death as authorities have said that Peña used his daughter as a "human shield" against officers.

"He's the one who set that whole chain of events in motion," Bratton said. "All the actions that day were precipitated by Mr. Peña's actions. The death of that young child is totally in his hands."

Bratton also defended his department's investigation. "I'm very comfortable, based on my review, that they did an outstanding job on the investigative portion of it and the Police Commission will have a lot of information to work with in terms of making their final recommendations," he said.

Luis Carrillo, an attorney for the child's mother, said he was suspicious about the LAPD's inability to identify where the shot that killed the toddler came from. He alleged that officers moved the child's body, interfering with efforts to trace the trajectories of bullets.

Carrillo has filed a lawsuit — seeking damages and a change in LAPD policies — against the city.

"It is important to know who fired that bullet," he said.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... -headlines

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

[Skip]

Updated: 11:01 a.m. PT July 14, 2005

War of words escalates in deadly L.A. shooting

Coroner confirms shot that killed toddler came from police; family outraged

LOS ANGELES - A toddler whose father held her as a shield during a gun battle with police died of a single gunshot fired from a police officer’s rifle, authorities said Wednesday.

Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey released the autopsy reports of 19-month-old Suzie Pena and her father Jose Pena, 34, who were both killed Sunday in the hours-long shootout at Pena’s auto repair business.

The girl died from a single gunshot wound to the head, and her father died of multiple gunshot wounds, the reports said.

A toxicological examination to determine whether Pena had drugs or alcohol in his system will take several weeks, Harvey said.

“Our hearts, prayers, thoughts go out to the family, particularly the mother,” Police Chief William Bratton said at a news conference Wednesday.

Although Bratton has adamantly maintained that Pena was responsible for his and his daughter’s deaths, he said the realization that it was a police officer who actually shot the girl was hard to take.

“Believe me, as chief of police, and for the officers involved, it is very tough to deal with that,” Bratton said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said there will be a community meeting on Friday and urged people to reserve judgment until the investigation is completed.

‘Terrible night’
“I am asking for the public’s patience,” he said. “It was a terrible night that ended in a terrible tragedy for this city.”

Ultimately, the police chief said, he expects an investigation now under way will clear all of the officers involved in the gun battle.

“In the 38-year history of SWAT, I believe this is the first instance in which an innocent life in a hostage situation was taken by them,” Bratton said. “That situation is compounded by the age of this young child.”

The two were killed Sunday evening after a nearly three-hour standoff in which Pena exchanged gunfire with officers three separate times.

One officer was wounded in the shoulder during the third and final exchange between SWAT officers and Pena. Officer Daniel Sanchez, 39, has been released from a hospital and was recovering at home, police said.

Police said Pena told them during the standoff that he was not going to go to jail and shot at the officers repeatedly. Pena’s 17-year-old stepdaughter, who escaped during the shootout, told police Pena had threatened to kill his toddler daughter. Earlier in the day, Pena’s wife had called 911 to report that he had threatened her life.

Pena’s brother complained Tuesday about the police handling of the standoff.

“It’s been cruel what’s happened to my brother,” German Pena said. “They didn’t have any patience, none at all, knowing that my niece was with him, that he was a father. They should have acted with more patience.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8567717/

[Raphael]

This is a perfect example of how illegal behavior and savagery go hand in hand.

Only the scum of the Earth would use their own daughters as human shields to protect themselves from gunfire. This is what Muslim Nazi terrorists do, and it comes as no surprise to me that an illegal alien would do the same.

[Newmexican]

In my opinion, this was not a man or a Father, he was a sperm donor with a gun and cowardly streak down his back a foot wide.

[MW]

LOS ANGELES - A toddler whose father held her as a shield during a gun battle with police died of a single gunshot fired from a police officer’s rifle, authorities said Wednesday.

The blame in this case rest solely on the father and the Los Angeles politicians that made the city an illegal alien sanctuary! When you choose to ignore the rule of law, don't start whinning when things become chaotic.

[Skip]

ILLEGALS TO THE LAPD: DIE, VILLAINS!

By Heather Mac Donald · July 17, 2005 02:33 PM

Anyone who harbored the illusion that police-“community” relations would be saner in majority Hispanic, rather than in black, neighborhoods must now put that illusion aside. Unfolding in Hispanic Los Angeles is one of the most outrageous libels against the police in recent memory, driven by the illegal El Salvadoran “community.”

On July 10, Jose Raul Pena, an illegal Salvadoran previously deported for cocaine possession, engaged in an hours-long shooting attack on Los Angeles police officers, during which he used his abducted 19-month-old daughter as a shield against the return fire. Finally, after unloading endless fusillades at the police and wounding one officer, Pena was fatally shot by a SWAT officer. Not surprisingly, his toddler-shield was killed, too.

And who is the villain in this tragic bloodbath, according to Pena’s family and the vicious protesters who have filled the streets daily since the shooting? Not the father who would sacrifice his daughter to gain a clear shot at the police, but the Los Angeles Police Department. And yet, amazingly, Los Angeles officers are still patrolling the Watts neighborhood where Pena tried to kill them and which is now slandering them.

Here are the lies that the “community” is telling about Jose Raul Pena and the police: “The police killed my daughter. I want justice,” said Lorena Lopez, the unmarried mother of Pena’s 18-month-old daughter, Susie Lopez. “It’s cruel what happened to my brother,” said German Pena. “He was a good person.”

Oh really? Here’s how the attempted cop massacre began. At 2 pm on July 10, Lorena Lopez called the police and filed a domestic threats report against Pena. Pena then abducted his 18-month-old daughter Susie from the mother’s home and took her to his car lot. Next, Pena’s 16-year-old stepdaughter called the police from the car lot, saying that Pena was physically threatening her. The police arrive, and Pena starts firing at them while holding his toddler in front of him. The police help the stepdaughter escape the line of fire. Pena continues to shoot, even as the SWAT team is trying to negotiate over the phone with Pena to peacefully surrender. Shooting continues for the next hour and a half, with the toddler always used by the coward as a make-shift bullet-proof vest. After hitting an officer, Pena goes down, his daughter with him.

During the incident, Pena used a 9-millimeter Beretta pistol which had been stolen last year in a burglary in Oregon. His office at the car dealership contained a bag of cocaine and a half-drunk bottle of Tequila—consistent with the illegal Pena’s previous deportation for cocaine possession.

Videotape captured images of Pena shooting at the police while holding his daughter, yet his relatives are questioning not only whether he used his daughter as a shield, but whether he was even armed at all, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Nightly anti-cop protests at the shooting site have grown so violent that community activists have asked the public to stay away. On July 14, protesters surrounded an officer making a routine traffic stop and began threatening him. He escaped, but the police needed to call a tactical alert for the second night in a row, reports the Times.

The New York Times has been covering the story, too—completely agnostically about where the fault lies. Naturally, they cannot be bothered to share with the public the fact that Pena was illegal—not just illegal, in fact, but, as a returned deportee, an alien felon.

Los Angeles’s newly elected Hispanic mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, has been assiduously careful not to assign blame, even though there can not be a shadow of a doubt about who was the malefactor here. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” he said on July 14. “We’re going to examine every fact, [and] there will be transparency throughout. That’s important.” No, more important is to back up your officers who every day put their lives on the line to try to protect people who are happy to see them verbally and physically attacked.

Pena’s abused girlfriend, Lorena Lopez, immediately hired a lawyer. Expect a million-dollar lawsuit against the LAPD and the Los Angeles taxpayers for a murder committed by a man who should not have even been in the country.

http://michellemalkin.com/immigration/2 ... 7/02:33.pm

[MountainDog]

What a POS scumbag.
As a father I would lay my life down for my daughter.
How can any man use a child in such a manner, things like this just make me sick, and to top it all off the family wants to sue LAPD for his actions.
Oh he was a good person his sister says, I guess her idea of a good person is a cocain user who gets his daughter killed, some morales these folks have, all they see is a chance to make some money in a law suit. I hope the judge throws it out of court.

[Skip]

The toddler was killed as her father held her in a gun battle with police.

By Patrick McGreevy and Richard Winton, Times Staff Writers

-------------------------------------
READ BOTTOM TO TOP

-----Original Message-----
From: Skip
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:58 PM
To: 'McGreevy, Patrick'
Subject: RE: Shame on You


Mr. Patrick McGreevy,

I grew up in Torrance, CA. The L.A. Times was our family newspaper for decades.
I pretty much stopped reading the Times after the Blatant backing of Governor Davis during the recall, and the one side coverage (or lack of coverage) concerning Illegal Immigration.

I think the most real and honest story you have printed in the last year was entitled "6 + 4 = 1 Tenuous Existence" and I still quote that story many times. I am sure that there are others, but only one comes to mind at the moment.

I did not say I do not read your paper, I said that I stopped buying your paper. I read your paper for targeted articles, and I buy many newspapers specifically for Coupons and targeted advertisements.

I still feel that somewhere in that story that you wrote, it would have been appropriate to give some background on Mr. Jose Raul Peña, as I am sure that many people forgot, or never knew what kind of monster he was, or what the LAPD had to deal with on that day.

Thank You for Your Reply,
R/ Skip




-----Original Message-----
From: McGreevy, Patrick [mailto:Patrick.McGreevy@latimes.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:22 PM
To: Skip
Subject: RE: Shame on You


Thanks for the note. You mention stories like this are why you dont read the paper. I hate to say it but you would not have known about the troubling case if you had not read the paper. Sometimes we have to put things on the record involving behavior that is that are outrageous, otherwise the public will never know what is happening.



-----Original Message-----
From: Skip [.]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 5:21 PM
To: patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com; richard.winton@latimes.com
Cc: metrodesk@latimes.com; editor@latimes.com; letters@latimes.com
Subject: Shame on You


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... -headlines
RE: Which officer shot girl can't be known

What a POS scumbag.
As a father I would lay my life down for my daughter.
How can any man use a child in such a manner, things like this just make me sick, and to top it all off the family wants to sue LAPD for his actions.

Oh he was a good person his sister says, I guess her idea of a good person is a cocaine user who gets his daughter killed, some morals these folks have, all they see is a chance to make some money in a law suit. I hope the judge throws it out of court

The blame in this case rest solely on the father and the Los Angeles politicians that made the city an illegal alien sanctuary! When you choose to ignore the rule of law, don't start whining when things become chaotic
This is a perfect example of how illegal behavior and savagery go hand in hand.

Only the scum of the Earth would use their own daughters as human shields to protect themselves from gunfire. This is what Muslim Nazi terrorists do, and it comes as no surprise to me that an illegal alien would do the same

.

THIS MAN WAS A DOPED UP, SCUMBAG ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED.
I see no mention of that in today's story, as I guess you do not find that to be relevant or important. What is important is that the family is suing the Los Angeles Police Department on behalf of poor little Suzie.
Stories written like this is why I do not buy the Los Angeles Times anymore.
R/ Skip

[MountainDog]

This whole story makes me so sick!
I have seen combat in Nam and I have worked EMS here in the States and nothing tore me up worse than doing infant CPR and hearing the parents cry.
Any real man/father/human being/ would have put his child on the ground and covered her with his body to protect her even if it meant his own life.
I cannot come up with enough vile things to say about this POS.

[Skip]

L.A. officers cleared in child's killing

The police board says toddler Suzie Peña's death in a gun battle was the fault of her father, but mistakes were made.

By Patrick McGreevy and Richard Winton,
Times Staff Writers
November 29, 2006


The LAPD officers who stormed a South L.A. auto shop last year, killing 19-month-old hostage Suzie Peña during a gun battle with her father, followed department rules and should not be punished, the Police Commission ruled Tuesday.

But the oversight panel found problems in the way the Los Angeles Police Department field command responded and managed the crisis and singled out for potential discipline two officers who fired their weapons from the periphery very early in the 2 1/2 -hour siege.

"There was a systemic breakdown at the command and leadership level," Commission President John Mack said. "This incident is nothing short of tragic. It's tragic for all of us. The officers involved, and the community at large. It is a loss for Los Angeles and will be remembered as a sad and tragic day in our history."

One SWAT officer was wounded in the gun battle with Jose Raul Peña, who held his daughter in his arm as he repeatedly fired his gun at officers at his Watts car sales business in July 2005.

The commission announcement came hours after the district attorney cleared of criminal wrongdoing the 11 police officers who fired their weapons, even as the toddler's family and community activists demanded that the panel discipline the officers involved in the confrontation.

The commission announced its finding after a nine-hour, closed-door meeting with Police Chief William J. Bratton in which the panel unanimously backed all of his recommendations on which officers acted in and out of policy.

Mack and other panelists said the SWAT standoff highlighted shortcomings in the way the LAPD handles such incidents — including communications among elite units — that must be immediately addressed.

Specifically, the commission wants to hold commanders managing the scene more accountable for the actions of officers on the ground. The panel ordered Bratton in the future to review the actions of commanders with the same degree of detail that officers' actions receive.

Other reforms proposed include modifications for the use of urban police rifles and better training for officers as well as commanders and an examination of how to better storm a building in hostage situations.

Altogether, 13 officers, three sergeants and one lieutenant were ordered to undergo additional training because of concerns about their tactics during the incident.

The commission went out of its way to clear the handful of officers who actually stormed the building at the end of the standoff. In fact, the panel said many officers involved in the case "took courageous steps to defuse a frightening situation."

They noted that Suzie's father fired 15 of his 39 rounds at the officers in the final moments of the conflict while holding his daughter in his arms.

But they also found that two officers who fired and missed Peña from the periphery of the site near the beginning of the confrontation violated department policy in their tactics and the firing of their weapons.

Suzi's mother, Lorena Lopez, said afterward that she was disappointed that the officers involved in the final confrontation were not found to have violated policy.

"I did not get justice," Lopez said, adding that she would press ahead with her lawsuit "to get justice."

Bratton acknowledged the command and control concerns and said some officers will be disciplined and receive training as a result of failing to follow department policy on tactics and the use of force.

"This was not a good day for anybody," Bratton said. "It was a tragic day."

But, he added that officers did an "outstanding job" overall, given the chaotic situation.

"I want to commend the men and women of this department who in every instance of this incident behaved courageously, marching toward danger, every one of whose interest and intent was to save the life of the hostages," Bratton said.

His use of the word "outstanding" drew a sharp rebuke from Luis Carrillo, the attorney for Lopez.

"The police could have waited before storming in like cowboys," Carrillo told the chief and commission as he and the family stormed out of the meeting. "It was not an outstanding day when a baby died at the end of the day."

Hours earlier, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced that it had declined to file criminal charges against the officers involved in the standoff.

A report by that office found that the officers acted in defense of their own lives when they shot and killed Peña and "inadvertently hit with rounds" and killed Suzie, who was being used as a shield.

In a 10-page letter, Deputy Dist. Atty. Renee S. Cartaya wrote that the 11 officers "acted lawfully in self-defense and in defense of others when they used deadly force against Jose Peña." Prosecutors noted that Peña was using cocaine, engaged in a series of gun battles and had become irrational and told police he was fictional gangster Tony Montana from the movie "Scarface."

Police commissioners and prosecutors were particularly affected by tapes of telephone conversations during the siege.

Peña told an officer by phone earlier, according to prosecutors, "I'm going to hell. Me and the baby will go to hell before I ever leave this baby with my wife."

A 15-month investigation was unable to determine which of the officers killed the child as they tried to rescue her from her father's arms.

Commissioners agreed with Bratton that ultimately, Jose Peña was responsible for the toddler's death.

According to the district's attorney's account, the final confrontation began about 6:20 p.m. after Peña cut off communications and appeared with a pistol in his waistband.

He was holding the child by a backdoor and refused an order to put her down.

Seeing Peña trying to draw his weapon, Officer Dennis O'Sullivan, positioned on top of an armored vehicle, fired at him, according to the report.

SWAT Officer Chester McMillion then ordered an emergency assault after seeing Peña flinch as if he had been struck.

Once inside, officers found that Peña had fled to an inner office. SWAT officers heard gunshots and saw bullets come through the wall of the office, the report said.

Deploying a flash-bang device, Officers Dan Sanchez, Eduardo Perez, William Casey and Robert Gallegos Jr. entered the office and a gun battle ensued. Sanchez was shot in the shoulder by Peña.

Seeing Peña slump behind the desk with the baby on his lap, an officer rushed forward to grab the child only to realize Suzie had been fatally wounded. Simultaneously, prosecutors said, Peña reached for his pistol and Perez and Gallegos shot him in the head.

The toddler's family disputed the district attorney's finding that the officers acted in self-defense.

"There were plenty of police officers. The SWAT team was there," said Suzie's sister Ilsy DePaz, who was rescued from the scene by police.

"I don't see how they were acting in defense," she said. "You don't shoot a flash-bang grenade into a small office and expect for a little baby to come out alive."

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com
richard.winton@latimes.com


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