Long Beach police release video of officers fatally shooting a man on the steps of a church

Long Beach police release video of officers fatally shooting a man on the steps of a church

Video released Saturday by Long Beach police shows portions of a standoff outside a neighborhood church in which officers shot and killed a man whose family said he was suffering from a mental health crisis.

Brandon Boyd, 38, was fatally shot by police outside a Long Beach church, hours after police showed up in response to text messages reporting a man with a gun. His family criticized the police’s handling of the situation.

Officers who arrived at Iglesia de Cristo Miel, a church on Atlantic Avenue near 52nd Street, had tried to deescalate the situation with a hostage taker and a mental assessment team in the hours before the shooting, police said from Long Beach with.

According to the department, a SWAT team was called in after Boyd was uncooperative for more than two hours. The roughly 17-minute video released Saturday includes clips from police body cameras that show portions of their interactions with Boyd as he sat on the church steps.

At one point in the video, a police officer shouts to Boyd: “Nobody wants to hurt you, okay? We just want to see what you have in your hands.”

Read more: The “suicide” death of a Long Beach man is now the subject of a murder investigation, authorities said

Boyd tells the officer that he was the one who contacted 911 about a man with a gun. Dispatchers had received a series of text messages to 911 that are shown in the video. As they talk, the officer repeatedly asks Boyd if he has a gun and asks him to put his hands on his head and walk down the stairs.

Boyd expressed concern for other people in the area and said he wanted to give police time to clear traffic.

“I don’t want this to be about anyone else. … Move traffic because I just saw a lot of kids,” he says in the video.

He later tells an officer: “You can’t help me. …At some point I will force you to act.”

The body camera footage was interspersed with written descriptions of what the department said happened. Authorities said SWAT team members used a stun grenade and foam bullets as part of an “arrest plan.”

After police set off the stun grenade, Boyd reached behind his back, grabbed something and pointed it at them, security video from inside the church shows. Police said Boyd fired a handgun at officers.

Four officers fired back, police said. Boyd was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. One officer was hit in the arm and was treated at a hospital.

The Long Beach Post reported that authorities believe one of the shots fired by Boyd injured the officer, but Boyd’s family suspected he may have been injured by other officers.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson acknowledged the deep pain and sadness the shooting caused in the community in a statement Saturday. Richardson said he had been in constant contact with Police Chief Wally Hebeish and “advocated for transparency and the timely release of critical documents to ensure clarity and maintain public trust.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the city’s Police Oversight Commission are also investigating the incident, Richardson said.

“Importantly, this process includes input from our residents, gives the community a voice and demonstrates the citywide commitment to transparency and accountability,” he said. “We will continue to prioritize these values ​​during this difficult time.”

Read more: Long Beach High School security officer shoots burglary suspect

At a news conference with members of the Black Lives Matter grassroots last month, Boyd’s family members condemned the police actions that November night. His sister said her brother had six children who now had no father.

He “was peaceful and needed help,” Tiffany Boyd told reporters. “Despite this, police decided to escalate the situation by using a stun grenade, a violent and unnecessary act that resulted in the fatal shooting” of her big brother.

Tiffany Boyd could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday evening. Representatives from the Long Beach chapter of Black Lives Matter Grassroots did not immediately comment on the footage.

Members of the group also denounced the treatment of three Boyd family members after the shooting, saying police handcuffed them and mistreated them, leaving one with a broken arm. Police told the Long Beach Post that three people were arrested for disturbing the scene and one for assaulting a police officer.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

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