Los Angeles police officers have opened fire 25 times in 2024, nearing the total number of shootings in the entirety of last year, all within the first half of the year.
This alarming trend follows a recent incident where police fatally shot a man carrying a replica rifle in Boyle Heights. So far, LAPD officers have shot 21 people this year, resulting in nine fatalities, marking the highest count at this point in the year since 2018.
By mid-July last year, the police had fired their weapons 18 times, hitting 14 individuals and killing eight. The previous year’s total concluded with 29 incidents.
The recent shooting in Boyle Heights was the culmination of four LAPD shootings within just two weeks, a development that raised alarm among oversight officials who described it as a ‘troubling trend.’
During a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell attributed the increase in officer-involved shootings to a rise in confrontational suspects, many of whom appear to be armed.
Interestingly, this spike in police shootings occurs amid a citywide decrease in violent crime rates. Chief McDonnell noted that many of these incidents arise from responses to calls for service rather than self-initiated police actions.
To better understand this trend, McDonnell has requested an analysis from the department’s Critical Incident Review Division, examining cases from both 2025 and 2024. This review has indicated a noticeable uptick in the use of intermediate force weapons, intended to incapacitate individuals without utilizing deadly force.
The chief emphasized that the uptick in officer shootings is closely linked to the increased presence of firearms and replica weapons. While there were 10 such incidents throughout 2024, this year has already seen seven, complicating officers’ ability to accurately assess threats in real-time.
Furthermore, Chief McDonnell reported an increase in assaults on police officers, citing a specific incident on July 5 in Exposition Park. In this case, an officer was shot in both legs and grazed on the cheek during a shootout with an armed suspect.
According to McDonnell, officers noticed Ernesto Sepulveda, 26, riding a bike while armed. Upon attempting to detain him, Sepulveda fled, leading officers on a foot chase. During this pursuit, he turned and fired at the officers but subsequently fled into a park where he was arrested. He now faces charges of premeditated attempted murder against peace officers.
Another recent shooting occurred on July 10, when officers from the 77th Division shot James Tullous, 63, after he emerged from a car brandishing a firearm. Investigations revealed Tullous was involved in a previous confrontation where he had fired at another individual.
Just three days later, Newton officers responded to reports of a man swinging a sword in an intersection. They encountered 36-year-old Gurpreet Singh, who initiated a brief vehicle pursuit that concluded near Crypto.com Arena downtown. Video footage captured the moment police opened fire as Singh exited his vehicle wielding a machete, resulting in his collapse.
Historically, LAPD shootings reached a 30-year low with 26 incidents in 2019. Although the number of yearly incidents has fluctuated since then, it peaked at 34 in 2023 and remains significantly lower than figures from the 1990s.
Critics of the LAPD argue that officers often escalate situations unnecessarily through aggressive tactics, which can lead to deadly force becoming necessary.
The recent surge in shootings prompted pointed criticism from attendees at the Commission meeting, including board member Teresa Sanchez-Gordon. She highlighted the concerning nature of these shootings occurring alongside a significant decline in homicides, which are on track to reach their lowest levels since the 1960s.
As of June 28, Los Angeles has recorded 116 homicides compared to 152 during the same period last year. This mirrors a national trend of decreasing homicide rates since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I find that to be a troubling aspect of all of this,” Sanchez-Gordon stated, echoing the sentiments of many community members.
In response to these concerns, Chief McDonnell assured the commission that the LAPD would conduct thorough reviews of each shooting incident. He indicated that the department would provide reports to help determine whether officers acted within their policy guidelines, which generally permit the use of deadly force only when there is an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
image source from：latimes
