Police kill man in Long Beach; angry crowd confronts officers

Two Long Beach police officers who were responding to call of a man behaving “extremely erratically” shot and killed the man after they could not control him with batons and feared for their lives, according to a Long Beach police statement released this morning.

The officers were then confronted by an angry crowd of about 40 people, who were dispersed when backup police arrived at the scene along the 3400 block of East 67th Street, a North Long Beach neighborhood.

The victim, described by police as 46-year-old male, was pronounced dead at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, police said.

Police had received a number of calls from residents in the area complaining of a man behaving “extremely erratically,” said Long Beach Police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt. When the two officers arrived, they tried to make contact with the man, she said

The officers, “in an attempt to gain control of the suspect, utilized their batons, which were ineffective,” the statement said. Then “a physical confrontation took place,” Pratt said. “At some point, fearing for their safety, they fired at the suspect.”

Only one of the officers fired, according to the statement, hitting the man multiple times in the torso. Police believed the man may have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

After the shooting, the officers were confronted by dozens of people who were yelling and screaming at them, Pratt said. Fearing the crowd would turn on them, the officers called for backup from Long Beach police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The crowd, apparently neighborhood residents, left after additional units arrived.

The Long Beach Police Department is investigating the shooting. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office will conduct its own investigation, Pratt said.

deborah.schoch@latimes.com

ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com