LOS ANGELES – Three Los Angeles Police Department officers are recovering Thursday after being shot and wounded in Lincoln Heights following a shootout with a parolee at-large suspect who was shot and killed by police.
Officers from the Hollenbeck Community Police Station arrived at the 3800 block of North Broadway, between Lincoln Park Avenue and Mission Road, at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday regarding a parolee at large.
“During the subsequent investigation, officers came across the individual who refused to comply to the commands and a request for canine officers was requested from Metropolitan Division,” LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said at a news conference held outside of LAC + USC Medical Center where the officers were hospitalized.
The officers encountered the suspect during the search and “utilized gas to get compliance from the individual,” but again, the suspect refused, Labrada said.
“At one point during the search, the suspect exited and fired at the officers,” Labrada said.
After the officers were struck, other officers pulled them from the line of fire, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times.
“Reports from hospital have all three in stable condition,” Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore tweeted.
The officers are expected to survive, KCAL reported.
Officers returned fire, but it’s not clear how many shots were fired or if the suspect was injured by them.
Mayor Karen Bass visited the three wounded officers at the hospital, speaking with two of them, to check on their conditions.
“I deeply appreciate their service, and let them know that their city stands with them,” Bass said at the news conference. “And I very much look forward to their recovery. My heart goes out to the officers’ families who tonight got the phone call, or the knock on the door, that they dread every day that their loved one go on duty.”
The suspect had a lengthy criminal record and in January was charged with battery on a police officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in connection with an incident late last year, The Times reported, citing court records and law enforcement sources.
The shooting of the officers prompted a massive police presence, with at least three SWAT Bearcat vehicles at the scene along with an LAPD robot, KCAL9 reported.
A warning to residents near the scene of the shooting to stay inside and lock their doors as a safety precaution because the suspect was broadcast from an LAPD helicopter hovering over the area, according to KCAL.
A citywide tactical alert extending officers’ shifts was issued, then canceled after the suspect’s death.
