LAPD Shoots And Kills Man For Being Drunk

Michael Codero was shot and killed by LAPD cops

Responding to reports of someone disturbing the peace, police shot and killed a man Monday afternoon in the Lake Balboa neighorhood of the San Fernando Valley.

The deadly confrontation occurred around 1 p.m. on Skagg Street between Andasol and Encino Avenues, where the LAPD said the man was behaving erratically.

Prior to firing, the responding officers used non-lethal force, deploying a stun gun and firing a bean bag round, in an attempt to “de-escalate” the situation, but that was not effective, said LAPD Lt. John Jenal.

The man had a history of public intoxication and previous encounters with police, according to neighbors and the man’s mother.  Maria Luisa Codero identified him as her 34 year old son Michael.

The man never carried a gun, they said, and Lt. Jenal said he had no information on whether a weapon was recovered.  It was not immediately revealed what prompted officers to use force.

“He was a peaceful drunk,” Cordero said in Spanish.  Neighbors said he was usually friendly, but at times became obnoxious and combative.

The call that brought officers came from a neighbor who reported the man was physically abusing a woman on the sidewalk, according to LAPD Capt. Paul Vernon.

The caller, who asked not to be identified, was in her car when she witnessed the man “harrass” a woman and  push her into a fence, she told NBC4.

“She looked at me–we made eye contact–she said ‘help me,” said the neighbor. She said she recognized the man, and as she drove up and told him to go home, the woman ran away. The caller said she drove off thinking the man was going back to the house where he had been staying.

That incident was reported near the intersection of Andasol Ave. and Elkwood St.  The encounter with police occurred a block and a half away.  An LAPD helicopter also responded

Before the confrontation, the man had been staying at the house of Kim Romo, she said.

“These cops know Michael,” Romo said.  “They know he doesn’t carry weapons.”

At one point, the man fell down in the street, and had to helped up, according to Michelle Johnson, who called him a friend.

The man went to the backyard of the home of a Romo relative, and it was when he came out the gate into the front yard that the confrontation occured with the officers, Romo said.

“He staggered over toward the (police) car and they shot him six times,” said Johnson.  She said she witnessed the encounter, but made no mention of seeing police using the stun gun or firing a bean bag round..

Aerial video showed what appeared to be the body of a person on the sidewalk covered by a white sheet.

No officers were injured during the incident.

LAPD’s Force Investigation Division brought in portable lighting and remained at the scene well into the night.