Thread: Report: Toddler in LA Gun Battle Had Cocaine in Body

A report from the LA County Coroner's Office shows cocaine was in the body of a 19-month old girl who was killed in a police shootout in Watts, says KFI News.

"Somebody would have had to have been using the drug, probably smoking the drug in the room while she was present in the room and that's how she inhaled or got the exposure to the drug," says Coroner Operations Chief Craig Harvey.

Harvey also says that the cocaine could have been in breast milk. The report shows the drug had been in Suzie Pena's body for a few days before the shooting on July 10th.

Los Angeles police chief Bill Bratton says the report will not change his investigation into the shooting.

http://newsminute.com/Stories/toddle...aineinbody.htm

No child on this planet should ever have to live, or die, like this.

Susie Pena.

....

I just heard this a short time ago on the radio. I'm wondering if the family will try to sue the police knowing the girl had traces of drugs in her system. So far haven't heard any toxicology reports on the father, but it appeared he was taking cocaine since there was some at the scene of shooting. It's sad they girl had to die, but I hope the family doesn't get a dime from a lawsuit if they decide to file one.

Just another family showing that "family values don't stop at the Rio Grande", as el Presidente Jorge Arbusto says.

It's official that Jose Pena had taken drugs. The coroner's report released today confirms he had cocaine, meth, and alcohol in him.

www.latimes.com

Coroner: Man Killed in Shootout Was on Drugs
By Alicia Wittmeyer
Times Staff Writer

7:10 PM PDT, August 10, 2005

A Los Angeles County coroner's report released today found that Jose Peña had cocaine, methamphetamine and alcohol in him when he was killed during a police shootout last month.

Toxicology tests found cocaine and methamphetamine in Peña's bloodstream that had not yet metabolized, indicating that the drugs had been recently ingested.

The report appears to support LAPD accounts of the shooting. Police had said that they found cocaine and a partly empty bottle of tequila in the auto dealer's office in Watts where Peña and his 19-month-old daughter Suzie were killed during the July 10 standoff.

According to police, Peña had used his daughter as a human shield as he fired at SWAT officers while drunk and high on cocaine. An autopsy showed that the toddler died after being struck in the head by a police bullet.

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton was in Washington D.C. and unavailable for comment on the findings, according to an LAPD spokeswoman. He has maintained since the shooting that Jose Peña was the one responsible for Suzie's death.

The killing of Suzie Marie Peña has created controversy, with residents divided over who was to blame. Some residents have sided with her family, saying the LAPD should have taken more time to negotiate before storming the office. Others have sided with the police, saying the officers had no choice but to shoot because Peña was endangering lives.

An LAPD Board of Inquiry is still investigating the shooting.

A coroner's report released last week found trace amounts of metabolized cocaine in Suzie Peña's urine, indicating that she had ingested the drug several days before she died.

It is unclear how the drugs entered the toddler's system. The medical examiner said she might have been exposed through contaminated food or breast milk, or may have been in the same room as someone smoking the drug.

According to police, Peña had used his daughter as a human shield as he fired at SWAT officers while drunk and high on cocaine. An autopsy showed that the toddler died after being struck in the head by a police bullet.

Guess this blows his chance at Father of the Year!

Don't forget, the family is looking for the lawsuit lotto. I would have ICE agents waiting at the court room door. A one way ticket, with escort to the border. Junk people come in all sizes, shapes, colors and creeds, like these folks, they're not hard to spot. When the Police stop at their house more than the donut shop, they might be rednecks!

Latest update. It appears the family is preparing to file a lawsuit against the police for negligence in the death of the girl.

http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3902627&nav=23Ku

Family of slain toddler files claims in L-A


LOS ANGELES The family of a toddler killed by Los Angeles police is taking the first step toward a civil lawsuit.

Suzie Pena's relatives have filed claims against the city and the police department, alleging police negligence in the death of the 19-month-old girl. She was struck by police bullets as officers exchanged fire with her father Jose Pena, on July Tenth. Police have said he used the child as a human shield.

An attorney for the family accuses police of not giving negotiators enough time to end the standoff peacefully. And he says police were reckless with a flash-bang grenade.

The city is still investigating the shooting. The father was also killed.