The killing of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a 14-year-old who died in her mother’s arms after police shot her in a department store dressing room, has sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny of the Los Angeles police department.
Yet her death was just one of five killings by LAPD in a nine-day period this month, marking a brutal end to a year that has seen repeated scandals inside one of America’s largest police departments.
This year, the LAPD killed more than double the number of civilians than in 2020. And while it’s unclear what’s driving the increase, activists argue that LAPD officers have been emboldened to use lethal force in careless and unwarranted ways after seeing their colleagues face little, if any, repercussions.
“The tactic is shooting first and asking questions later,” said Jose Barrera, California director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.
During the past week and a half, LAPD shot six people, including Orellana-Peralta. Five of the people shot by LAPD around the Christmas holiday have died, and none were armed with guns, according to official accounts.
The killings added to an already grim year for the LAPD’s use of lethal force. In 2021, LAPD has shot 38 people, killing 18 of them, according to the LA Times. In 2020, the department shot 27 people, killing seven of them. Those figures were similar to 2019, when LAPD shot 26 people, killing twelve.
“There’s just a reckless disregard for human life,” said Christian Contreras, a local civil rights attorney representing the family of one of the civilians killed by the department this month. “We’re dealing with a huge surge in police shootings and killings of Black and brown people. It’s out of control.”
A deadly Christmas week
The shootings, and particularly the death of the teenage bystander, have brought national attention on the department, which has faced continued accusations of unjustified killings, racial profiling and civil rights violations.
In most instances, police have released few details about the people they killed and why police resorted to deadly force. But even with the limited information available, critics say the circumstances do not indicate deadly force was merited.
On 18 December, LAPD officers fatally shot two people in separate incidents – both involving men allegedly holding knives. In the first incident, LAPD said officers in the Newton division in South Central were responding to a call for a “domestic violence suspect” at an apartment complex, described as a “man in his 30s”. A spokesperson said that officers upon arrival found Rosendo Olivio Jr, 34, who “fit that description”. Police alleged Olivio was holding a “folding knife” and butane lighter and yelling profanities and threats, and that an officer shot him dead when he “ignored commands”.
But Contreras, an attorney representing Olivio’s family, said it was unclear if Olivio was the suspect related to the original call, and that his family has questioned whether he was involved. Holding a pocket knife was not justification for killing him, Contreras added.
Olivio’s shocked family struggled to process the news and the LAPD statements presenting their loved one as a violent criminal, the attorney said. Olivio was a father of four, who lived in a neighborhood where police have been embroiled in repeated scandals over the killing of civilians. (Officers in the LAPD’s Newton division have for years used the nickname, “Shootin’ Newton”.) And although the LA police commission ruled that police officers violated policy in two other recent LAPD killings in south LA, the officers have not faced charges.
“Police investigate themselves … and justify the conduct of their colleagues,” said Contreras. “The system is designed to cover up misconduct.”
In the second 18 December killing, LAPD also alleged that a man with a knife ignored commands, but the department’s statement made no mention of whether he had threatened anyone.
On 23 December, LAPD killed two people inside a Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood: a 24-year-old man who had a bike lock and had assaulted several customers, and Orellana-Peralta, the 14-year-old who was in a dressing room.
Video of the shooting showed an officer immediately firing at the man from a distance, without appearing to issue any commands. One of the officer’s bullets hit the girl, who was shopping for Christmas dresses.
Civil rights advocates questioned why an officer with an assault rifle appeared to fire at 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez, who did not have a gun, without attempting to deescalate and without assessing whether bystanders could be endangered.
Valentina’s mother, Soledad Peralta, said the shot knocked them both to the ground and that police ignored her cries for help. Once LAPD located them in the dressing room, officers removed her from her daughter, and “just left her laying there alone”, she said. LAPD declined to comment on her claims.
Then on Christmas Eve, LAPD shot a man who was allegedly shooting a gun in the air; he survived, but was in critical condition. And on 26 December, an officer fatally shot a man who was at a gas station and allegedly had a knife.
LAPD did not respond to the Guardian’s inquiries about the rise in killings.
‘LAPD creates the danger’
Advocates argued that the surge in killings was part of a pattern of misconduct this year that required systemic change.
Other controversies involving the LAPD in 2021 included: officers detonating seized fireworks in south LA, destroying part of a neighborhood and 22 residential properties; officers allegedly purchasing stolen guns; officers accused of falsely labeling civilians as gang members; officers not wearing masks in violation of Covid policies, but facing no discipline; the department promoting inaccurate data about its traffic stops; and revelations about the agency’s use of surveillance technology, prompting a rebuke from Facebook.
Officials have touted a range of LAPD reforms during the pandemic, including initiatives sending mental health professionals to respond to certain calls, expanded deescalation training and community programs meant to build relationships and restore trust.
But the steady stream of scandals, activists said, illustrated how the department fails to prioritize public safety and how reforms have not prevented harmful practices.
“LAPD is the one that creates the danger,” said Albert Corado, whose sister Mely was killed by LAPD in 2018 in a shooting with similarities to the Burlington case. She was working as a manager at a Trader Joe’s store when an officer fired at a suspect and killed her in the process.
The death of his sister could have been a turning point for LAPD, he said. But instead, the cycle of killings and unanswered calls for justice has continued, even after the reckoning prompted by George Floyd’s death.
“We’ve been at this moment many times in LA and across the country. Every few months, we say we’re so sorry for this person, and LAPD needs to be reined in, and it doesn’t happen,” said Corado. “After Mely’s death, they didn’t change a damn thing. All these people are dead, and we’ve yet to do anything really substantial in a way that is going to be meaningful for victims.”
Corado is running for city council and advocates for the defunding of LAPD and the abolishing of police. Supporters of defunding argue that the best way to reduce police violence is to cut LAPD’s budget, limit their interactions with the community, and reinvest the funds in services. He said he was tired of conservatives who defend police at all costs, as well as Democrats who continue to increase law enforcement budgets while pushing modest reforms that have failed to stop the killings.
LAPD and its supporters have recently been pushing for more resources, citing concerns about rising crime, including high-profile robbery cases and retail thefts. The data, however, paints a more complicated picture; homicides have increased, reflecting national trends during the pandemic, but property crime is generally down.
Latora Green, an advocate who attended the press conference of Orellana-Peralta’s parents on Tuesday, said she hoped more people would come together to push for defunding: “It’s the whole system that needs to be dismantled.” No amount of accountability can bring back the 14-year-old victim, she added: “What really is justice when you lose someone?”
Corado also came to the news conference to offer support to the grieving parents. He said he wanted them to know they were not alone – that there was a network of families across LA who have suffered similar tragedies.