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LAKEWOOD (CNS) – A man who fought with deputies and whose car twice
stuck patrol vehicles was killed today in a deputy-involved shooting in
Lakewood, authorities said.
The shooting occurred about 10:40 a.m. in the 5500 block of Adenmoor
Avenue, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The man, who was not
immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies from the sheriff’s Lakewood Station were first called to the
scene because of a person acting erratically. The first deputy saw the suspect
seating in a vehicle parked along the curb, said Deputy Amber Smith.
When the suspect saw the deputy, he suddenly and without provocation
accelerated the car, colliding with the front end of the patrol vehicle, Smith
said.
There were further attempts to restrain the suspect when a second deputy
arrived, but the suspect continued to fight.
The deputies tried to put the suspect’s car in park, but he punched and
shoved them. Additional deputies were called and they tried to subdue the
suspect, using various less than lethal options, including OC Spray and a
Taser, but neither had any effect, Smith said.
The suspect then purposely put his car in reverse, with the driver’s
door open. The vehicle struck the rear bumper of an adjacent patrol vehicle. A
deputy trying to subdue the suspect was crushed between the suspect’s car and
an adjacent sheriff’s patrol car.
It was at this point assisting deputies, fearing for the deputy’s life,
fired at the suspect, striking him in the upper body, she said.
The injured deputy was treated at a hospital for abrasions, bruising and
cuts to both legs and his left arm.
Anyone with information related to the shooting was asked to call the
Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
