LAPD Officers Cleared in 2003 Shootings of 2 Black Men

A police commission cleared three detectives of wrongdoing in the fatal shootings of two robbery suspects, though an investigation found the suspects were not armed. The report will be sent to the department for a decision on possible disciplinary action. The district attorney's office, which investigates all police shootings, has not yet decided whether to file criminal charges, said spokeswoman Jane Robison. Police Chief William Bratton said he supported the commission findings. ``I have determined that the detectives reasonably believed the suspects presented an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. The commission, an administrative panel that governs police conduct, cleared detectives Robert Kraus, Christopher Brazzill and Anthony Avila of wrongdoing in the September 2003 shootings of David Thomas, 19, and Byron Smith, 20. The detectives maintained they opened fire because Thomas and Smith and another suspect, Steve Hunnicutt, were armed. Hunnicutt's attorney said the men did not have a gun at the scene. The commission report, released this week, said no handguns were found in the possession of the three suspects and none of the suspects had gunshot residue on their hands. After the shootings, a handgun was found in a getaway car, and the third suspect and a fourth man were charged with assault on police officers. [more] and [more]

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