Compton, California
July 25, 2013
Agencies: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department California LASD
Cause of death: Shooting
Last updated: almost 6 years ago
A traffic stop in Compton turned deadly Thursday morning when a sheriff's deputy got into a violent struggle with a driver, leaving the deputy injured and the man fatally wounded by gunfire, authorities said.
Sheriff's were responding to a call about a possible drunken driver just before midnight when they stopped a man driving a Toyota Tercel on Long Beach Boulevard near Pauline Street, said Lt. Eddie Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
During the stop, the driver was placed unhandcuffed in the back seat of the patrol car, Hernadez said. He was cooperative at first, but then became involved in a struggle with the deputy, during which the man bit the deputy on his left bicep before trying to grab his gun, Hernandez said.
The deputy fired three shots at the unarmed man, but officials were not sure how many times the man was struck, Hernandez said.
The man, an unlicensed driver identified only as Hispanic and about 42 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
Video from the scene showed the man’s body sprawled across the south side of the road, not yet covered by any sheet or plastic.