Pandemonium
broke out a southern California hospital in the early hours of Thursday
after a police officer shot and killed an inmate inside an emergency
room.
The incident occurred at the Centinela hospital around 1.00 am on Thursday.
The suspect, a 27-year-old man, had been arrested Wednesday afternoon for possession of a controlled substance, said Lt. Holly Francisco.
He was booked at the South L.A. Sheriff’s Station, but began to complain about a medical problem.
Paramedics brought him to the hospital by ambulance to see a doctor, escorted by two sheriff’s deputies.
The deputies were waiting with the suspect, who had one hand handcuffed to the gurney and the other hand free.
Police say the inmate grabbed one of the deputy’s guns out of the holster, prompting the shooting.
The suspect was hit and was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
There were other patients in the emergency room at the time.
One of them told KTLA that the inmate reached for the deputy’s weapon after he’d been allowed to sign some documents.
“I heard in the area where the officer was at, telling him they were going to take one handcuff off to sign the paper,” witness Ken Cobb said.
“Then from there, I just heard a shot or whatever and then they just rushed me out in my wheelchair,” he said.
Its common procedure to have only one handcuff on the gurney so medical staff can run tests, Lt. Francisco said.
She said any changes to that procedure “would have to be discussed in the future.”
The emergency room was shut down for a time while investigators interviewed witnesses, but it has since been reopened.
Source: KTLA News
The incident occurred at the Centinela hospital around 1.00 am on Thursday.
The suspect, a 27-year-old man, had been arrested Wednesday afternoon for possession of a controlled substance, said Lt. Holly Francisco.
He was booked at the South L.A. Sheriff’s Station, but began to complain about a medical problem.
Paramedics brought him to the hospital by ambulance to see a doctor, escorted by two sheriff’s deputies.
The deputies were waiting with the suspect, who had one hand handcuffed to the gurney and the other hand free.
Police say the inmate grabbed one of the deputy’s guns out of the holster, prompting the shooting.
The suspect was hit and was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
There were other patients in the emergency room at the time.
One of them told KTLA that the inmate reached for the deputy’s weapon after he’d been allowed to sign some documents.
“I heard in the area where the officer was at, telling him they were going to take one handcuff off to sign the paper,” witness Ken Cobb said.
“Then from there, I just heard a shot or whatever and then they just rushed me out in my wheelchair,” he said.
Its common procedure to have only one handcuff on the gurney so medical staff can run tests, Lt. Francisco said.
She said any changes to that procedure “would have to be discussed in the future.”
The emergency room was shut down for a time while investigators interviewed witnesses, but it has since been reopened.
Source: KTLA News
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