Steven Eugene Washington, Unarmed Autistic Man, Killed By LAPD

LOS ANGELES — A fatal weekend police shooting of an unarmed man who family members say was autistic prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California on Monday to urge the Los Angeles Police Department to re-examine its policies.

Steven Eugene Washington was shot by gang enforcement officers Allan Corrales and George Diego near Los Angeles' Koreatown shortly after midnight Saturday after he approached them and appeared to remove something from his waistband, police said. No weapon was recovered.

Corrales and Diego heard a loud noise while driving in their patrol car and turned around to see Washington. The officers said the 27-year-old was looking around suspiciously and manipulating something in his waist area.

When the officers tried to stop Washington to investigate, he quickly approached them and seemed to pull something from his waistband, Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger told reporters at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

Each officer fired once and Washington was hit in the head, police said.

The officers fired "with the belief that he was arming himself, and in defense of their lives," Paysinger said.

Corrales and Diego called paramedics, who pronounced Washington dead at the scene.

ACLU of Southern California Executive Director Ramona Ripston said the organization was deeply troubled by the shooting.

"The initial news coverage of the incident shed little light on why lethal force was necessary when officers were not responding to any report of criminal activity and had no reason to suspect Mr. Washington of a crime just because they heard a loud noise as they were driving past," Ripston said in a statement.

"We urge the LAPD to go beyond a one-time investigation examining the conduct of the officers, and take a broader look at changes in department policy and training that could help prevent such a tragedy from recurring," she said.

Family members said at a news conference Saturday that Washington was autistic and had never shown any signs of violence or had any trouble with police.

"They assured us that they are investigating, they also assured us that they care, so all we want is answers," aunt Vickie Thompson said.

The LAPD's Force Investigation Division and the district attorney's office are investigating the shooting.

Corrales has been with the LAPD for nearly seven years, and Diego for nearly eight years, police said.

Comments

[randy kiyabu]

05:36 AM on 04/06/2010

Steven was my favorite student when I taught at Manual Arts High School.I was so happy to see him graduate with a diploma.Steven was a kind and gentle soul.

[Nebris]

01:37 PM on 03/24/2010

And cops wonder why people are trying to kill them.....

[liveordie]

08:58 AM on 03/24/2010

Shoot first and make sure you kill em! The Mayor will now close the gates that he protects and this will go away as many in the past have.

[Schmice]

11:25 PM on 03/23/2010

You know these officers are going to end up receiving a commendation.

[Carolyn Gammicchia]

11:15 PM on 03/23/2010

It is important to note a couple of things in this case:

I. The LAPD was on high guard for a police shooting within a day of this incident. The officers in that shooting shot a suspect that went for his waistband and did have a gud.

2. This young man did not obey verbal commands, usually a first sign of resistance. He then went for his waistband. This is usually a sign a person is armed.

3. The LAPD is one of the only departments in the country that specifially train officers about autism. This started in 2008.

4. Don't second guess folks, especially if you've never been in that position.

5. Officers are training to use lethal force and only use their firearm in fatal force situations.

As an officer, and parent of a son with autism it is important for officers to be trained to respond appropriately, however that included the community piece as well. This man was out at midnight, in Koreatown, and was being investigated. Officers have only seconds to respond and didn't in this case have time to identify he was an individual with a disability.

Lets wait and see what the investigation will reveal. My heart goes out to this family and to the officers.

[calamityjohn]

09:30 AM on 03/24/2010

which of these things justify shooting somebody in the head? ..

[sviolette]

01:26 PM on 03/24/2010

Are your lies about this incident part of your "code blue" mentality. This man was not being investigated, the cops heard a loud noise is all that happened. His going for his waist band could also mean his pants were falling down. Don't they have to actually see a weapon before they can soot someone in the face? Sticking up for these cops when there is an innocent hadicapped person dead is ludacris.

[zombywulf]

10:06 PM on 03/23/2010

Why don't they just admit they screrwed up and killed an unarmed man, they will after the trial anyway and it may not cost the city several million dollars. Start testing cops now, not after they kill some innocent person.

[Sparco41]

08:08 PM on 03/23/2010

I grew up watching Andy Griffith and Adam 12, where the good cops always seemed to find a way to avoid shooting the bad guys. Those shows gave me an unrealistic perception of how things work in real life, but it's really hard for me to know what my expectations of police behavior should be. I am surely more aware of such shootings because of increased press coverage, and I am more tuned into such events because I'm sensitive to them as the parent of a child with a severe mental illness. However, even among the people who are not law officers, I think a shift of public opinion toward the rights of victims has allowed for more questionnable shootings that are ruled to be justified. I don't have the answer, but it would be nice if we could figure out a way to subdue people without having to kill them. Somebody should be able to invent a compact gun that will reliably incapacitate a person from a distance without killing them, but I suspect there is not enough sympathy for criminals or those with mental illnesses to create much demand for such a product.

[RichardWalden]

06:07 PM on 03/23/2010

As the parent of an autistic 13 year old whom I hope will someday live independently, I fear that unless training is dramatically enhanced and changed, he, too, may become victimized by officials or store managers, etc., incorrectly interpreting his actions. People with disablilities or linguistic incompatibility have a major challenge in our society....By the way, I thought the millions being spent on body armour for police officers was to allow them to go the extra second or two before blasting away at people unresponsive to their commands. "Tragic accident" is the likely result of an LAPD investigation but the two officers should be fired and forbidden to even own personal firearms from here on. They took the life of an innocent and whatever punishment they receive will pale in comparison to what a family of an autistic child has endured.

[Carolyn Gammicchia]

11:17 PM on 03/23/2010

How were the officers suppose to know this man had autism? It was midnight in Koreatown and he did not respond and reached for his waistback. Body armor doesn't allow for officers to take extra seconds either.

[CaliTLC]

04:23 AM on 03/24/2010

I live in L.A. and heard nothing about this incident over the weekend. Probably because I was glued to C-SPAN and cable channels covering the HCR passage. One of the problems is that the police tend to over react when encountering a black man. Keep in mind, I didn't know he was black until I just clicked on another link that depicted a picture of his family. I'm curious whether there were any other witnesses. IF the independent witnesses also thought that the man was reaching for a weapon, that may support the offers' perceptions from their vantage point. In general, the police need to stop over reacting when encountering black men. Try to get more information before reaching for a weapon. Or, here's a thought, leave black men alone who are not committing crimes. This guy was walking down the street. He should not have died.

[Chris Siepel]

04:33 PM on 03/24/2010

They didn't bother to investigate whether he was autistic or not....didn't bother to investigate if he was armed, or a threat of any kind either.

[belyeu]

05:50 PM on 03/23/2010

*Harass*

[belyeu]

05:48 PM on 03/23/2010

The police in our country no longer serve and protect, they harasses and intimidate. I no longer have any respect for cops.

[caad4]

05:04 PM on 03/23/2010

True, Bella.

[Bella Lee]

03:39 PM on 03/23/2010

Mist police today are afraid to fight crime. They harass people they know can't hurt them.

[thinkforasecond]

03:26 PM on 03/23/2010

This is murder.

[usna73]

02:43 PM on 03/23/2010

The whole society is guilty of this crime. My profoundly autistic son, now 17, is invisible to the community. He can barely speak. Other than his immediate family he is virtually isolated from the "typical" community. This is what we have come to in the pursuit of money at all costs.

I am so sorry for your loss, Washington family.

I weep for thee , America.

LAPD: This is a collosal failure in training and preparation. I expect that you'll be held to account.

[MotorcycleBoy]

01:46 PM on 03/23/2010

A few of my experiences with the L.A.P.D.

When my $20K Harley was stolen, I couldn't even get the cops to come take a report.

When my identity was stolen & the thieves tried to open credit card accts. & buy computers, I went to the police with a name, address and phone number of the people using my identity. They did nothing.

I see them hassle the homeless all the time.

And, once again, they have shot & killed an innocent person. A mentally handicapped person, with no past history of violence or criminal record. It's beyond disgusting.

My heart goes out to Mr. Washington's family. This is a horrible tragedy that should've never happened.