Top Inglewood police officials struggled Monday to explain why officers fatally shot an unarmed motorist over the weekend, acknowledging that there was no evidence linking the man or others in the car to the gunfire that drew police to the scene.
"It was a totality of circumstances," Capt. Eve Irvine said in explaining why the police shot at the car Sunday, killing Michael Byoune, a 19-year-old passenger, and wounding the driver, 19-year-old Larry White.
Irvine said the officers opened fire because they heard gunshots in the area and saw the vehicle coming toward them. Police said they found expended rounds suggesting that someone was shooting in the area, but they were still trying to determine who was behind it.
Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks expressed condolences to Byoune's family -- but said it would be premature to call the shooting a mistake.
"As the chief of police I want to assure you all that our investigations will be objective and they will be comprehensive," Seabrooks said.
One of the officers who opened fire had been with the department 5 1/2 years and his partner had been with the department less than one year. Seabrooks said both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave. Although California courts have ruled that the names of officers involved in shootings should be publicly released, the Inglewood Police Department refused requests to release their identities.
The chief said there are three investigations into the incident -- criminal and administrative probes by her department, and an independent investigation by the county district attorney's office.
Inglewood police said they are still trying to piece the incident together and have further interviews to conduct as part of their investigation. Preliminarily, they said the incident began about 1:40 a.m. Sunday when the two officers heard gunshots while patrolling the 3000 block of Manchester Boulevard. At least three independent witnesses told investigators that they saw a man pointing a gun in the direction of the officers who had pulled into a Rally's fast-food restaurant parking lot, Irvine said. Expended rounds that did not come from the officers' weapons were found in the parking lot, she said.
About the time the officers heard the gunfire, they saw a man run and get into a slow-moving car in which Byoune was riding. The officers said they heard more shots and felt something hit their cruiser, then fired several shots as the vehicle moved toward them, according to police. Police now believe that the man who entered the vehicle was not connected to the shooting.
