Torrance Police Department

A Lomita man who was shot to death by Torrance police officers over the weekend when he allegedly drew a gun during a traffic stop has been identified, authorities said. Richard Thorpe, 39, was driving a sport utility truck when he was pulled over Saturday at 5:10 p.m. in the 2200 block of Sepulveda Boulevard by two Torrance police officers because the vehicle's registration tags had expired, said Sgt. Marc Wilkins.

Torrance police officers shot to death a 38-year-old Lomita man who pulled a gun on them, officials said Sunday. Two officers stopped a white Chevy Blazer driven by the man, whose name was not released, about 5:10 p.m. Saturday in the 2200 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, Lt. Mike Browne said. The officers smelled alcohol inside the vehicle and asked the man to step outside.

A man suspected of committing an armed robbery was shot and killed Monday afternoon by Torrance police officers who chased the alleged gunman and fired at him after he got out of his car. Officers said Dean Dial, 33, of Gardena, pointed a loaded handgun at them before they fired. The incident began around noon after a man reported he had been robbed in the parking lot of Shoe City on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Luis Ortiz, a 23-year-old Inglewood resident who was one of three men who won a $379,000 settlement from Torrance in 1995, has been awarded a $150,000 settlement for a second incident that allegedly involved the same Torrance police officer. Ortiz filed a lawsuit last year alleging he was threatened by Officer Martin Dempsey on May 27, 1996, at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance while shopping with his wife, son and younger brother.

Torrance officials have selected Capt. James Herren as the city's new police chief. The decision was announced late Tuesday after a three-month search to replace former Chief Joseph De Ladurantey, who retired in May after being on the job for more than five years. Herren beat out two other finalists for the department's top job. Seven candidates from the Torrance police force had initially applied.

Torrance has narrowed its search for a police chief to three candidates from within its department's ranks, according to a police spokesman. Seven police captains and lieutenants had originally applied for the department's top job, which has been vacant since mid-May when Chief Joseph De Ladurantey retired. The finalists are Lt. Paul Besse, Capt. Nolan Dane and Capt. James Herren, acting police chief. The city hopes to select a new chief by mid-August.

A man has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city of Torrance and 13 Torrance police officers for allegedly violating his civil rights when he was detained last summer after a police pursuit. Rudy Viveros Jr. filed the lawsuit on Monday, saying he was beaten unconscious and his right hand was fractured when officers allegedly used flashlights, batons and fists to hit him on the head, back and side when he was stopped at 2:30 a.m.

Torrance may have a new police chief by mid-August. The City Council gave the go-ahead for the Civil Service Commission to administer exams to seven Torrance Police Department officers who applied for the position. Bill Ghio, the city's Civil Service administrator, said Monday that the exams will be given during the last two weeks of July. Results should be back by early August. "We should make an appointment soon after," City Manager LeRoy Jackson said.

Two Scottish police officers were trying to find a course on drug recognition when they hooked up with the World Wide Web. What they found was the home page that the Torrance Police Department started about its four-day course called "Drug ID and Influence Recognition," now in its sixth year. It was just what Inspectors Paul Fleming and David Stewart with the Strathclyde Police Force in Glasgow, Scotland, were looking for.

The city of Torrance agreed Thursday to pay $480,000 to settle a high-profile police misconduct case, but later in the day a Los Angeles federal judge refused to accept the settlement, according to lawyers for Torrance and the plaintiffs. The unusual development occurred just as it seemed that a three-year battle between Torrance and three Los Angeles youths and their families was about to be resolved.