LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A group of protesters gathered in front of City Hall today following a Los Angeles Police Commission ruling that an LAPD officer who fatally shot a 30-year-old black woman in the Crenshaw district acted within department policy.
Tuesday’s decision sparked shouts of protest from the audience in the meeting room in the Police Administration Building, which was packed with activists and some Black Lives Matter members calling for the officer to be disciplined or fired for the Aug. 12, 2015, shooting in the aftermath of a pharmacy robbery in the Crenshaw district.
Outside the Police Administration Building, hundreds of angered activists chanted “Fire Charlie Beck! Remove Matt Johnson!” referring to the Los Angeles Police Department chief and the president of the Police Commission.
The commission, after meeting in closed session for more than an hour, announced that it found fault with some of the tactics used by officers in the shooting of Redel Jones, but found that Officer Brett Ramirez’s shooting of the woman did not violate LAPD policy.
Jones was shot in the 4100 block of Marlton Avenue after police responded to a call of a pharmacy robbery in the 3700 block of Santa Rosalia Drive. According to an internal report obtained by the Los Angeles Times, money and a robbery demand note were found in Jones’ clothing.
Following the Police Commission’s ruling, some protesters left the Police Administration Building and gathered a block away on the east steps of City Hall in an impromptu sit-in. The sit-in continued into late afternoon, and was continuing this morning. By 9 a.m., no arrests had been reported, according to the LAPD.
