Michael Byoune, 19

Inglewood, California
May 11, 2008

Agencies: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department California LASD | Inglewood Police Department California

Cause of death: Not Yet Known


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Michael Byoune, 19, a young black man, was killed by Inglewood police officers in the 3000 block of Manchester Boulevard about 1:40 a.m. Sunday, May 11. Byoune was declared dead at the scene, authorities said.

According to police, officers were in their patrol car when they heard gunfire. They saw a man running from a parking lot and getting into a slow-moving car. The officers fired several shots as the vehicle came toward them, police said. Byoune was sitting in the passenger side of the car.

The driver of the car was also wounded and taken to a local hospital, where he is recovering.  A third person, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, was detained for questioning. 

Update: Inglewood police officials said they were looking for a gunman who they believe prompted two police officers to fatally shoot an unarmed passenger in an approaching car.

Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks again expressed condolences Wednesday to the family of an unarmed man killed and another wounded by police officers in a shooting that she said was prompted by the actions of an unidentified gunman and resulted in "a very tragic outcome."

Michael Byoune, 19, was killed early Sunday by two officers who fired on the vehicle he was riding in near Manchester and Crenshaw boulevards, apparently believing gunfire was coming from the car.

The driver, Larry White, also 19, was injured, and another passenger, Chris Larkin, 21, was grazed by the officers' bullets.

"I won't go so far as to call it a mistake," Seabrooks said during an afternoon news conference at the police station. "The process that the officers went through had a very tragic outcome."

Seabrooks identified the officers as Brian Ragan, a 5 1/2 -year veteran, and Roman Fernandez, who has been with the department less than a year.

In July of 2008, a 38 year-old postal worker named Kevin Wilks — an Inglewood resident, and father of two young chidren — was shot and killed when police officers knocked on his door shortly after midnight in response to a 911 call reporting a man and a woman fighting.  Mr. Wilks unwisely answered the door with an unloaded gun in his hand. The same Inglewood police officer who shot Michael Byoune fired two shots into Wilks’s chest. For this wrongful death, Wilks’ family members have received a total settlement of $1.7 million.   The officer responsible for the deaths of Byounne and Wilks was relieved of his duties in 2010 for conduct unrelated to the shootings.

Legal Action

March 2010 Settlement $2.45million