Stephen Michael Bours, 30

March 23, 2010, 9:18 a.m.

Stephen Bours, a 30-year-old white man, was shot and killed by police Saturday, March 20, in the 12000 block of Paramount Boulevard in Downey, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Bours was wielding and ax and walking north in the middle of the southbound lanes of Paramount Boulevard about 6:30 p.m., said L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Ray Leyva. Officers ordered Bours several times to stop and drop the weapon, but he refused and advanced toward them with the ax raised over his head.

"Fearing for their safety, the officers fired their weapons at the suspect and struck him," Leyva said.

Bours was taken to a hospital in Lynwood where he was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m., said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office.

The hatchet was recovered.

-- Corina Knoll

Share a memory or thought about Stephen Michael Bours

Before you post, here are some answers to frequently asked questions:

Remember, all posts are approved by a Times staffer. Profanity and personal attacks will not be approved.

62 reader comments

i would like to inform syscom3 that he wasnt there, he didnt know my brother, and he wasnt on pcp, or any drug. my brother is not the only hispanic looking man in that area that has been killed by downey pd.its not about a lawsuit, what would u do if they killed u and left ur kids orphans? they did it to steve. he didnt have a hachet and we have pics to prove it, but we will prove it in court where justice is suppose to prevail. if i shot anybody just once id be in jail for life, that cop got a promotiom, raise and a dog, after going down the street and killing a mentally retarded kid. we would be sitting in a cell. lets see if he gets the same treatment. after all is done i will be changing my name to Ms goldman. i hope det. kurtz enjoys his family as he made my brothers children orphans. i suggest since u werent there to quit telling these people my brother was on pcp, or meth or whatever ur saying hes on, and i really hope u never have to go thru something like this. i invite u to attend a meeting of survivors of police killlings and listen to the things that goes on in the real world.
nicki cruz sister of sgt steven bours

— nicki Aug. 3, 2013 at 12:41 a.m.

I grew up in Downey. When it was a decent place to live and raise a family. I read this story here and it makes me sad. The VA does nothing to help the kids when they come back from the sandbox in dealing with the mentally jacked up crap they have to see and do. They would be the ones I would be directing my anger to, if you want to "blame" someone. I won't really blame the victim here, he came back messed up, the VA failed him, it appears from the article attached here the kid self medicated back into meth and just lost it.

With that said.

I will tell you folks that think that its easy as pie to shoot someone in the leg or arm, I hate to break it to ya, but real life ain't a Mel Gibson movie...cops are taught during a high stress situation to shoot center of the biggest mass of a person, that's right folks, THE CHEST. To shoot an arm, or leg like that you need to be a damn good marksman..like a sniper. Maybe go down to Long Beach City College and take an Admin of Justice class taught by retired cops. They will tell you, like they preached to me as a student, as well as my husband who is a veteran, you can't do what you all want to happen in these cases.

— brandtinwa Jan. 22, 2013 at 5:10 p.m.

I grew up in Downey. This poor man. Same age as my husband. Our troops need better after care from being in a war zone. That is what you all should be livid about. The VA system as a whole is broke, and needs fixing, ASAP. This kid needed help mentally and the VA turns a blind eye to these guys coming back from war, needing a shrink to decompress all the f'ed up crap they see over in the sand box, and they don't get it.

As far as shooting to wound...I almost became a cop, you shoot for center body mass to take down the threat, not to wound to take out a kneecap. Unless you are a sharpshooter, no way in hell could you shoot whatever it was out of his hand. You are trained to make a split second decision. I see this same thought come up every police involved shooting, and the police are correct. They aren't Mel Gibson or Danny Glover or Bruce Willis in the movies.

— brandtinwa Jan. 6, 2013 at 11:12 p.m.

Unfortunately there are two sides and they are both tragic. Stephen raised a deadly weapon in a threatening manner and the police felt they had no choice to use deadly force. I'm sure the police are not proud of that...it was just part of their duties. I am not the officer that was there so I can not judge what he perceived as a deadly threat. On the other hand, many of us Irag/Afghan veterans come back with severe PTSD that civilians cant even comprehend what we went through. Add to that substance abuse to deal with our feelings when coming home if not already addicted while serving a 2 or 3 tours. Why can't the government allocate funds for better mental health programs to prevent or lessen such tradgedies that effect many people besides the veteran.

— christian May 11, 2010 at 10:57 p.m.

The police didn't fail him, everyone else did. Family ,friends, the army..EVERYBODY .The police did their job the best that they could do at that horrible moment on that awful day with that American hero who was in crisis . Had it been 2am with no bystanders around to be in danger, and the police with a few extra minutes to size up the treat and talk with him and make a plan. Maybe he would still be with us in a hospital getting the treatment he needed. Cops are marriage counselors, baby sitters, parents to grown adults ,psychologist, judge but never executioner. When we exit our radio cars, we are tasted to ensure everyone’s, safety and referee your little dramas .We have seconds or less to make life decisions. Death is never the intent but unfortunately sometimes the outcome of our decisions on how you make us stop your treating actions. But 9 times you cry. Do some reading on what sever psychosis and meth and other stimulants do to our bodies. I intend to visit his grave when I return from Iraq. I didn’t know him, but I know him well. Bring on any rebuttals !!!

— Ofcr Steve May 2, 2010 at 4:06 p.m.

I can't believe that this happen again the abuse of authority on the officers shooting a man that did not have a record and to top it off he was a war hero. my prayers and deep condolences to the family may he rest in peace. this cops lately are abusing their power and are killing innocent victims and always their famous by saying afraid for their life,this cops needs more training to handle people not just shoot and killed,lately we all hear how some of our troops are coming back home mentally disturb and I can understand why this government does not help them,they are paying the price for keeping us all safe they are getting killed not at war but here back home,don't know him but maybe one day in our life time we cross path like we all do in the streets may god keep him and my prayers to all his family thank you and god bless them.

— lorrainesgr45 May 2, 2010 at 3:48 p.m.

To all... I was in the 3rd car heading southbound on Paramount bl when I saw the shooting. I could not believe my eyes! It was the most surreal moment in my lifetime. I have read every report of what "so called" happened, but I saw it and it was horrifying. I had nightmares of this occurance for days. I also questioned "why" not shoot in the leg or arm?? At the very moment that the police officer fired his weapon Stephen's arms where at his side as he walked aimlessly down the street holding an object in his right hand. The look in his eyes where blank and distant. I couldn't fathom at that moment why this was happening. Why did Stephen walk into the danger zone? It was a senseless death. My prayers go out to his family.

— Downey Neighbor March 29, 2010 at 2:55 p.m.

hi I'm an adopted member of the Bours family, my name is Nicki, and his name is Steven. He didnt have a axe, it was a small axe like thing that he was going to get sharpened at a friends. And for the record the first shot was to the chest and he went down, they didnt need to go further, but instead they put 8 more bulletts into him and he died on the spot not the hospital.It was beyond overkill it was murder. I see they arent talking about the incident that happened in Feb when they beat him and tazered him, why not? Was it the same cops? THEN THE COPS THAT KILLED HIM TAKE A LEAVE THATS PROBABLY PAID. Bottom line is they over killed him with 9 shots when a tazer would have been enough but instead murdered him. Hes my brother and anyone can feel free to e mail me with whatever they want. Steve was mild and quiet, yes he came back from the war with issues as alot of people did, but what people forgot was he fought for your freedom in Iraq, fight for his now. I love you and miss you Steve.
Nicki

— nicki March 27, 2010 at 9:52 p.m.

Although I did not know Steve very well, he was always mild mannered and distant... at least with me, He is my friend's brother and It saddens me to think of the manner in which he passed. He was only 30 years old and he was an Iraq war veteran. I was briefly chatting with his father last night at the vigil and he was telling me that he had no criminal record. It is likely that he suffered from post traumatic ....... but I'm not certain. I do recall him at his house at the grill and playing a few tunes with his guitar. He was a veteran like me and that's about all we had in common. Please pray for Him and his family, also, me and Mark are going to organize an event to raise funds for his funeral expenses. Please e mail me for further info.

— Mickey Rendon March 23, 2010 at 4:28 p.m.