By Joanna Putman
Police1
LOS ANGELES — The LAPD recently released body camera footage of an Aug. 27 fatal officer-involved shooting involving a man who charged at two officers with a knife.
Officers can be heard talking with suspected loiterer Angel Ledesma while still inside their cruiser. The first officer tells Ledesma that many burglaries and car thefts have occurred in the area. When asked, Ledesma said he lived at the residence and he had ID to prove it.
Officers then got out of the cruiser and approached a set of stairs leading to the building. As one officer started to climb the steps and approach Ledesma, he started to pace and told him to back up. The other officer spotted a knife in his hand.
“He’s got a knife,” the officer told his colleague, who stopped his approach.
“What knife? What are you talking about?” Ledesma responded.
Ledesma then suddenly ran down the wheelchair ramp, jumped over the fence and ran at the officer who saw the knife. Officers repeatedly shouted at him to drop the knife, but he did not comply.
Both officers drew their guns when Ledesma started running and six shots were fired as he aggressively ran toward the officer with the knife drawn. He fell, still moving, and would not drop the knife as officers called for an ambulance.
Officers performed CPR on Ledesma, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Watch the body camera video below.
