So many bullets were discharged during a siege last year at a South Los Angeles auto shop that investigators cannot determine which LAPD officer fired the shot that killed 19-month-old Suzie Pena, Chief William J. Bratton said Monday.
The finding, which follows a 15-month investigation that used outside weapons experts, complicates the Police Commission's task today in deciding whether the officers should be disciplined.
Suzie Pena was shot twice as her father held her in front of him as he exchanged gunfire with Los Angeles police officers in July 2005. The fatal shot hit Suzie in the head but did not lodge there. Investigators could not determine which of the bullet fragments they found had hit her.
Her death set off a debate about Los Angeles Police Department tactics, prompting investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and calls for better rules on how SWAT officers respond to hostage standoffs.
Bratton described the investigation as one of the most complex in the department's history. It involved microscopic analysis of about 130 bullets and more than 100 casings involving 13 firearms, and more than 80 interviews of witnesses and 36 DNA tests.
"The issue is, can we with any definitiveness determine who fired the fatal shot," Bratton told The Times. "The subsequent investigation has not been able to make a more definitive determination. That's unfortunate, but that's pretty much where we are with it."
Figuring out which of 13 officers who fired shots actually killed Suzie is a key question both for the LAPD and the family's attorneys, who are suing the department. By identifying the officer, they could determine where he or she was standing, figure out his or her vantage point, and assess whether proper tactics were used.
The Police Commission will decide today whether any of the officers involved in the standoff violated department policies. Without being able to link Suzie's death to a specific officer, however, officials said, it would be difficult to build a case against any individual.
LAPD sources who are familiar with the investigation said the detectives who examined the incident broke it down into three distinct stages that the commission will examine.
