LAPD tried to reverse a coroner's verdict in girl's death

The Los Angeles Police Department waged an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign to convince coroner's officials to change their finding that a SWAT officer's bullet killed a 19-month-old girl held hostage by her father three years ago, according to records reviewed by The Times.

The intense lobbying effort, which involved one of the department's highest-ranking officials, led to significant friction between the LAPD and coroner's office. It also raises questions about whether the LAPD crossed an ethical line in pushing so hard, some medical and law enforcement experts said.

Ultimately, the LAPD's campaign led nowhere. The coroner has stood firmly behind its conclusions. But the Police Department's unusual attempt to have the case reopened underscores the deep, lasting effect the death of the child, Suzie Peña, has had on the officers involved and on SWAT as a whole.

The elite special weapons and tactics unit had never before killed a hostage in thousands of operations over nearly 40 years and had long operated as an insular, seemingly untouchable group shrouded in mystique. The shooting exposed SWAT, used largely to serve warrants on dangerous suspects and handle standoffs involving barricaded people, to vigorous scrutiny by a panel of consultants convened by LAPD Chief William J. Bratton that conducted a top-to-bottom review of how it operates. Out of the review came changes aimed at making the unit less isolated from the rest of the department and reforms in the way members are selected.

Through a spokesman, Bratton refused to comment for this article and refused to allow other LAPD officials to respond, citing ongoing lawsuits regarding the Peña shooting. Coroner's officials also declined to comment.

By all accounts, the shooting on July 11, 2005, ended tragically. Armed and high on cocaine, a suicidal Jose Raul Peña faced off with police at his used-car dealership in Watts. Peña traded fire with officers who had surrounded the lot, then barricaded himself and his daughter in a cramped office. SWAT members, under the mistaken belief that a sniper had wounded Peña, stormed the office. Holding his 19-month-old child in one arm, Peña opened fire on the officers through a thin wall as they approached, setting off a fierce fire-fight.

When the shooting stopped, Peña was dead.

So was the little girl. A single bullet had struck her in the head.