The California Department of Justice is investigating a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shooting that left a 29-year-old man dead in East LA.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the man killed by the sheriff’s department as Erik Torres, whose cause of death was gunshot wounds. The office listed his death as a homicide.
The shooting occurred at about 3 a.m. on April 1 in the 1400 block of South Downey Road, according to a statement from the sheriff’s department. After contacting people at the home, a person, whom they identified as a suspect, “exited the residence armed with a handgun.” That’s when the shooting happened, the sheriff’s department said.
The sheriff’s department later found that the weapon fired blanks. No deputies were injured.
Local news outlets reported that authorities received a call about a man who appeared to be in distress. NBC Los Angeles reported that sheriffs received a call “from a man who wanted to hurt himself and shots were heard during the call.”
The sheriff’s statement did not confirm a distress call.
The DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB 1506, which requires the investigation of officer-involved shootings resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state.
Once the investigation is completed, it will be turned over to the DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review, according to a press release .
Anyone with information related to this shooting can call 916-210-2871.
