Eddie Felix Franco, 56, a Latino man, was shot and killed by Inglewood police about 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, at 475 Market St. in Inglewood. Franco was homeless.
It is the Inglewood Police Department's fourth officer-involved shooting since May (see Michael Byoune, Ruben Walton Ortega and Kevin Wicks ).
-Ruben Vives
Kevin Wicks, 38, a black man was killed by an Inglewood police officer in the 100 block of North Hillcrest Blvd. in Inglewood about 12:30 a.m. Monday, July 21.
According to a statement from the Inglewood Police Department, officers responded to a radio call of a domestic disturbance at Wicks' apartment. Police said officers knocked on the door, and Wicks opened it. "At one point while the door was ajar, the officers observed that Wicks was holding a handgun," the statement said. "Wicks then suddenly raised the handgun at the officers, which resulted in one officer firing his weapon in self-defense."
Wicks was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police said a gun registered to Wicks was recovered at the scene. Several residents say the officers were at the wrong location, but police said that was not the case. Hours after the shooting, family …
Ruben Walton Ortega, 23, a black man, was killed by an Inglewood Police officer in the 11100 block of Crenshaw Boulevard in Inglewood about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 1.
Inglewood Police Department officials said officers with a uniformed gang task force received a call that men were loitering. When officers arrived, Ortega ran south in an alley. Officers said they saw him discard what they believe were cash and drugs. One officer chased after Ortega. The officer told investigators that Ortega refused to show his hands and kept his left hand concealed in his waistband, said Sgt. Gabriela Garcia of the Inglewood Police Department.
Believing Ortega was armed, the officer shot him, she said. Paramedics pronounced Ortega dead at the scene. Police said Ortega was a known gang member and a convicted felon.
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.
