Hollenbeck Officers involved in OIS

Los Angeles: Hollenbeck Area officers assigned to Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR), become involved in Officer-Involved Shooting while patrolling housing development.

On March 12, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., Police Officer Jorge Alfaro, 12 years 10 months with the Department and Officer Jacob Avalos, 4 years 9 months were in uniform, on foot in the Ramona Gardens Housing Development, where they were conducting gang injunction enforcement. 

Alerted by fellow officers of a suspect riding a bicycle refusing to be detained, Officers Alfaro and Avalos spotted the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Sergio Jose Rojas.  The officers concealed themselves amongst some buildings, and as Rojas neared their location they attempted to stop him.  Rojas, producing a small caliber pistol, abandoned his bicycle and began running from the officers.   

As Avalos and Alfaro gave chase, Rojas pointed the pistol in their direction resulting in both officers discharging their weapons.  Rojas sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center where he died from his wounds. 

Rojas' weapon, a chrome .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, was recovered at scene.

Force Investigation Division personnel responded and are investigating the shooting.

Comments

[we want meneses behind bars]

we need clean cops with really safe and good intentions not crooks and only are out to kil young teenage males and make up stories planting weapons on the inosent guy and say they felt like self defence if they shoot cause he was gonna shoot first thats all a lie i seen every thing i can honestly say for the 1st time they are wrong rojas didnt even know how to hold a gun but one day every one pays! and have real men to protect not kill

[Centurion]

Councilman Huizar needs to keep his public comments to himself before demanding an "Independent Inv" besause he ASSumes that there was improper coduct by these hard working Officers.

Councilman Huizar needs to go to Hollenbeck Div, and apologize for questioning their Integrity, Work Ethics, and their Hearts when protecting the Hollenbeck Community from THUGS like Sergio Rojas.

[JB]

Another LAUSD graduate invades the blog! I needed a translator to get through that nimwits post so I brought in my second grader. I had to laugh at, "he didnt even know how to hold a gun". Maybe he was pointing the gun at himself. In that case, the officers should have just waited till the innocent gangster pulled the trigger.

[Wyatt Earp]

Councilman Huizar, you should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you suggest that your Police Officers who put themselves in harms way are possibly somehow dirty in this. This is typical Los Angeles City politics. I'm sure the Mayor will chime in any minute as well...

As for you, "We Want Meneses Behind Bars" I suggest you consider jumping out of the gang and go back and try to finish your high school education, or at least learn to spell and compose a coherent sentence.

[Centurion]

"We want," The way you spell indicates how well you read. Rojas was no teenager. He was a grown man, that was armed with a GUN, and pointed it at the police.

If Rojas only watched Chris Rocks video on obeying the police, he would be alive, in County Jail.

[kat]

Wow!Where did Menses go to school? No periods anywhere. I guess he needed to vent. Huizar just needs to keep his trap shut. He wasn't there, and patrolling the projects is not easy. I work for another department, but live within the city limits. I deal with city politics all the time, but not like in la. It is amazing that it is always LAPD's fault and never anyone else. Mayor: Before you start putting in your two cents, try to fix the schools you want control over, and teach students how to read and write. By the way, it's been nice not seeing your mug on t.v. since the news of your affair broke (i needed to write that).

[Paola Borja]

Officers are risking their lives to contain gangsters for the good of the people. I'd like to see anyone put on a uniform and allow themselves to be shot at and not be expected to use their weapon. Would anyone really be expected to be completely shot at before taking defense? I highly doubt it, officers put enough of their lives on the line. They are human, they need to defend themselves. That gangster should have known better than to pull a gun on a cop, people need to start taking responsibility for themselves, their actions, that's what's wrong with this world, everyone likes to blame someone else for their wrong doings. And the MEDIA, they are just out to get a story no matter how they twist it around, they want to create controversy, they ought to be ashamed of themselves, how do you sleep at night knowing you are playing with peoples' lives just to make it a juicy story? Officers were doing their job and defending their lives.

[ruben]

All you people NEEd to wake up. Are you telling me an officer is proven to lie, cheat , steal, do drugs, but can NOT murder? Are they not human? Do they not have tempers? Do they not make mistakes they later regret? Look i respect the police, but i went to visit this neighborhood the next day and i listened to WITNESS accounts NOT media and they all said he was running away and NEVER pointed a gun at an officer, so you people do some research and STOP living in a dreamland!

[ruben]

I really hope Huizar does his Job and prosecutes these officers to the fullest extent, i've been reading and listening and seeing officer involved shootings for about the past 10 years and i dont think i've ever seen a cop get more than a slap on the wrist. Now you mean to tell me EVERYTIME these questionable shootings happen the cop is right? So there is no lying on those reports?....i seriously doubt it

[ruben]

Centurion

Lets see what story the LAPD cooks up when he shoots and kills your son or daughter. Do you think LAPD always tells the truth...ha thats the reason they are the JOKE of law enforcement throughout the world. Where does the media get their info from where do you get the info from? Did you interview witnesses did you see the crime scene have you been to Ramona Gardens? Well i have, and evrything points to "bad cop judgement"

[JB]

Once again Ruben aka "the Ramona Gardens gangster apologist" rears his ugly head. Ruben, you and your fellow gangster friends are so biased are prejudiced against the police. Your hatred of the police seeps through every post you have ever written on this blog. You are so blinded by your hatred you could never have the empathy or perspective to view these incidents through the eyes of a police officer. I know no cop that relishes being involved in a shooting. Being in a shooting is a stressful and traumatic experience, if you survive. No police officer I have ever met wants to take the life of another person. The police are forced by violent criminals and the mentally ill to make split life and death decisions. The man had a gun and pointed it at the police. He made a bad decision and the police survived. We train to win and go home in those situations. I don't get paid to get shot at or spit on or assaulted. I get paid to win. People like you could never understand or don't want to understand that.

[Wyatt Earp]

Ruben, why aren't you more outraged at the cowardly little punks in Big Hazard who prey on the good citizens of Ramona Gardens? Why are the cops ALWAYS the bad guys and the thugs always the poor victims? Keep drinking your Kool Aid.

[Centurion]

Ruben, yes I been to Romona, Nickerson, Mar Vista, and Jordan projects. Unfortanely the people that witness the true version or heard the true version of events would never speak out to their neighbors because they will fear retaliation from the local gang members within their community.

You must of heard the lies from people who heard it from a "comadre" and weren't even there, or they just plain lied to you told what they want you to hear. LA Times is not even running any further stories on the incident. Which means that there is some truth on how the events occurred. If the LA Times had some minute fact that there was misconduct they would have a headline everyday and the LA Times always loves to take down the BEST Police Department in the world.

Don't worry about my kids. I'll make sure they watch the Chris Rock video on obeying the law. And if my kids choose the wrong path, like Sergio Rojas did, they deserve what's coming to them.

By the way, a little Civics lesson, Coucilman Huizar is not a prosecutor. The Distric Atty is Steve Cooley.

[Think]

Huizar?
Lets see.....wasn't this the man who worked for a law firm who investigated the Belmont High School incident....and that's right, who went to jail for that or was punished for wasteing millions of dollars....I didn't think so....Well after the slaps on the hands were passed out. Who suddenly appeared on the L.A. Unified school district school board, ... thats right. Our honest and honnorable city councelman.
You want investigaions Mr. Huizar, be careful you may be the subject of one. BY the way that was a nice photo op for you re-election campain. Get real...

[Centurion]

I like to thank the community of Hollenbeck Division who called Councilman Huizar's Office and expressed their disatisfaction with his un-called for comments on the news.

I hope this is a lesson learned on his part, and would keep his commnets "objective and without prejudice" when not knowing the true facts.

Hollenbeck Officers are still waiting for their apology from Huizar, and don't send representatitve from your Office please.

[Robert Davis]

Here is a true story of a Los Angeles Police incident that will give you some perspective. I reviewed the investigation of this incident, went to the scene, reviewed video, etc.

In 2003 several officers chased an armed man in a housing development and fought with him over a handgun. It was a very close call with the officer managing to grab the gun just prior to the suspect grabbing over the officer’s hand. The officers clearly could have shot this person. Although no shots were fired and no one was seriously injured, the investigation took a year and the officers were benched during the investigation (could not work the field). The reason there was such an extensive investigation was because of all the "eye witnesses" who saw a whole range of problem behavior from excessive force to standing over the suspect and shooting their guns into the air.

This investigation was about 500 pages. It involved 92 interviews, and a great deal of document and technical research.

Here is the end result. Of all those witnesses, I believe there were 32, two actually saw what occurred. The remaining witnesses were proven to have not seen what occurred. They heard the neighborhood story and repeated it adding or subtracting whatever their mind could not remember. Guess how many witnesses supported the officers' version? If you guessed the two credible witnesses, you get an A for reading comprehension. By the way, physical evidence also supported what those two witnesses said occurred.

Here's the other half to this story. The officers were benched for a year. The unintended message to the others was to back off their patrol in this housing development, which already had no rule of law. A lot of killing occurred that year and I suspect some of it resulted from a lack of enforcement effort that otherwise would have happened.

Now for the point of this story. This incident, just like any serious incident, will be investigated both internally and via other agencies. It will be presented for consideration of criminal filings against those involved and this includes officers. The investigation will be reviewed by too many people inside and outside LAPD to list. This is standard procedure and ultimately the truth of the matter will be verified. However, while we wait for that investigation to conclude, we cannot as an organization or a community, hobble our patrol officers from doing their job. Councilman Huizar or Mr. Mayor, if you want to comment about something, how about commenting on Hollenbeck patrol being held back from doing their job in the housing developments and how that is somehow viewed as a positive for the community.

[Anne]

If someone offered me a check for a million dollars, I wouldn't want to walk in the shoes of any LAPD officer. Every time some loser bum is shot or killed during a confrontation with a police officer, the armchair quarterbacks can't wait to give their opinions of what the officers did wrong.

To me, it wouldn't be worth it, even if I could get paid amillion dollars a year, to be a cop on the street in LA. LAPD cops have to live with the fear of having their own department, the local government, the mayor, the police chief and the media all willing to throw you under the wheels of a moving bus.

Councilman Huizar needs to shut up and let the police finish their investigation before he starts rattling his trap.

[Sheriff Bound]

"I really hope Huizar does his Job and prosecutes these officers to the fullest extent"...

Huizar is the city councilman, not the District Attorney or some federal prosecutor; i.e. he doesn't prosecute anyone, nitwit.

[Mr Logical]

So this guy was running away, right? He wouldn't be running if he didn't have some serious problems with the law. Maybe he had an unregistered firearm? Perhaps he accidentally pointed it at the officers during the pursuit? Maybe he thought he could intimidate his pursuers? This sounds more probable than veteran police officers firing on a person just because they are mad.

[rob escalante]

Hey, i just read about this officer on another incident....Officer George Alfaro....He and his partner entered a house alone because a murder suspect was going to kill 2 babies,then kill himself. The officers kicked the front door open and without waiting for others, entered the house and arrested the idiot before he killed the two kids. Too bad the mother and another child were already dead. This is on this blog back in 2006, i think it was in August..... I believe this officer more than i believe the gangmembers writing on this blog...I want to join the force and I wish I could work with this guy. You guys writing nonsense about corrupt officers, it is so clear that you have no idea what took place, only that you would lie, cheat, steal, rob, and even murder someone for your gang....very sad....Be safe Gang officers and the entire LAPD.....