James Davis, 18

Yet again! Why would you aim a gun at a police officer? This guy dug his own grave. Moron.

to the angry mob- where were you guys at when all those other people got killed in watts within the last 12 months? Yall outraged? you guys need to mob on the thuggery that has thrived in watts for the last 45 years.

We cry when a thug kills our sons, but we get angry when a cop kills the thug. It ain't ever going to change.

Meck, do you really believe this suspect pointed out a gun to the cops when according to the coroner's records he suffered a gunshot wound to the back!? I would think if the suspect pointed the gun at the cops and the cops did indeed fear for their lives they would have shot the suspect in the front and not back. Basllistic, any community is more outraged when cops kill suspects because they are suppose to protect and serve the community. On the other hand, when a thug kills someone it is needless to say expected. Cops are suppose to be above and better than thugs and have the training to prevent killing someone.

you can get shot in the back while running and shooting behind you. this is not a movie where people stand off and have shoot outs.

smarter than jag, the suspect never shot a single shot so I don't know what you're trying to say.

— Jag, the decased was stopped before he could shoot his weapon. The weapon was in his hand ready to be used.

Are you insinuating that armed people should not be stopped until they have started shooting?

(I liked this so much, that I though I would re-post).

We cry when a thug kills our sons, but we get angry when a cop kills the thug. It ain't ever going to change...

I agree Melani. Thugs aren't sued when a murder is commited. But when there is a possible payday from the taxpayers because of a "wrongful death" suit, just watch the families line up and make noise to the media. Blood money is all it is. Vampires in the 'hood.

You're correct, I agree completely. Instead of mourning about their lost loved one they claim "wrongful death."

It breaks my heart that innocent people die every day because of these felons and criminals... The second a cop kills one of them in self defense the community freaks. People really need to think about how dumb that sounds. Think about how many innocent lives they're putting in danger by doing this.

They'll figure it out one day when their kin is the innocent one killed. And they'll know at that point that it's their own fault.

Slugger, so if a cop killed a family member of yours what would you do?

Jag, was the cop defending himself? Was the cop defending an innocent person (like...say maybe one of YOUR family members)? Was the cop just doing a drive-by? Please clarify your question.

he did not point a gun at the police, yes he did have a gun on him.. When he seen the police he started to run and he threw the gun, he not once pointed it at the cops though... yet they shot him while he was running, they had no idea he had a gun until the later recovered it .

@ Slugger,

Jag can't clarify his question. His questions and answers are predicated on a clear bias that all cops are killers. If you have any history reading his posts, you would see he hasn't the ability to be objective when it comes to an officer related shooting. To him, or her, they all are unjustified murders.

— tre.davis, so you were on the scene watching all of this transpire?

And how do you know the police had no idea he had a weapon? You privy to the police reports? Their discussions with the investigating officers?

I think you're just repeating rumors you've heard.

@ John-
Yeah, I've read Jag's posts. I know he's ALWAYS bashing the cops. I wonder if law enforcement rejected him as a candidate at some point . He sure is bitter.

the gangs have been running rampant for years. it is time for the gang violence to stop. the gangs terrorize their own neighborhood ,their mothers then move them, and their gang member baby daddy's to a nice quiet neighborhood (section8 certificate in hand) to terrorize a nice clean non grafitti neighborhood. we are tired of our children being robbed and beat up by your gangmember family members because their parents refuse to get jobs and buy the essential items their children need or want so they steal and rob our kids. i say thank you to the police for doing what the parent should be doing. stronger laws for gangmembers and the parent should do jail time as well for unleashing these thugs onto society.

i was there he never pointed a gun he threw the gun and ran and the cops shot him ask your self if sum one points a gun at you and you shoot them shouldnt they have got hit in the front and not the back and not only that when we ran over there to where he was hit he was hand cuffd and to top that off the damn cop who shot him always said if you run from me im going to shoot you ...

slugger, if I wanted to be a cop I would have not bothered to go to graduate school. Are you implying that people who question a cop's competency is a law enforcement reject? John, 10% of all homicides are committed by cops and I do believe a lot of them are unjustified murders.

@ Jag

"Are you implying that people who question a cop's competency is a law enforcement reject?"

A: No. I question the competency os SOME law enforcement personnel myself. Even without a graduate degree I know that they do not wake up each day and ponder who to take out over a morning cup of coffee.

If "a lot of them are unjustified murderers" the criminals would be six feet under and not in jails, prisons or running rampid in our communities

Your comments are clearly biased against law enforcement and based on your "BELIEF" that "A LOT" of them are "UNJUSTIFIED MURDERERS."

A belief is not a truth, my friend.

Now please answer my question. In the senario where my family member was shot/killed by a cop, was the cop defending himself, protecting someone else or doing a drive by?

@ me-

One way to get shot in the back is to point a weapon at someone or shoot at someone and then turn and run.

If the cop actually did say " if you run from me i'm gonna shoot you.." then it looks like another suicide by cop to me.

Watts is packed to the gills with criminal gang banging thugs. Go check out the embedded link and notice the amount of crime there EVERY SINGLE DAY. Most of these people don't contribute anything to society but misery and pain and this dude was just more of the same. It's too bad we as a society don't wise up and take a bulldozer to Imperial Courts, Jordan Downs, Nickerson Gardens and the all the rest of the taxpayer subsidized breeding grounds for this human garbage.

slugger, I also do know MOST cops don't wake up each day and ponder who to take out over a morning cup of coffee. I also know my belief system is based on facts. For example, it is a fact the ex officer bart killed an unarmed man. The man complied with the cop and he was still shot in the back. See link below:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/bart-officer-sentenced.html

In spite of this incident video taped, it sickens me to know the cop was only sentenced to two years. As indicated in the linked article, "policeman can shoot someone and go free. These guys have a license to kill” and I agree with this statement 100%. In most cop killings there's not even a trial. We are talking about a human life taken away and there's no room for mistakes. Lastly, since I already brought up the Bart incident, what would you do if a family member of yours was Grant, the person killed by the cop?

i feel if u dont know the real story keep your comments to yourself because the teen never pointed a gun at the officers and he was shot after been handcuffed so if u dont know whats going on please dont comment

Big shock. The people claiming to "know" what happened claim the cop killed him unnecessarily. Those same people "know" the victim....Think they're biased?? Sounds better to claim the cop was wrong then fess up to you're "victim" HAD A GUN! WAS a CRIMINAL by the fact he had that gun... Bet he carried it for "protection" You people really represent....stupidity.

Me, Antwonette,

Get your stories straight. Did he get shot while handcuffed (Antwonette) or did he get shot while running?(ME) You both sound as if you witnessed it but have conflicting facts......One of you, if not both, are clearly mistaken...Again, big shock...I'm sure you both agree that the cop is the villian here though...poor innocent gun toting gangster....mean ol murdering cop...right Jag??

it is really sad that the focus here is the fact the this youth was a gang member this is yet another senseless loss of life for those you who make ignorant comments regarding what happened you werent there so all of your commentary is useless he made a bad split second decision and unfortunately it cost him his life I have lived in the south east los angeles area for all my life and honestly the most innocent people ( ie those that dont bang) feel compelled to carry weapons just to have that sense of security I wont even begin to get on the corrupt police force! Rest in peace young man!

This is the saddast discussion I have ever read. I am from Imperial Courts and if they were to listen to you and genocide the entire area this world would be void of a lot of good people. We are not all gun toting gang bangers. I am a Special Education Teacher with a Master's Degree. I put myself through school (no tax payer money) I own 2 business in Arizona and 3 homes. None ill-gotten. My Cousin from there is a RN. Another cousin s manager. Another making 70k driving for LAUSD. The majority of my cousins from WATTS are doing well for themselves.
My famiy has 2 generation growing up in Watts. Out of the 50 I can count (maybe more) not one ever killed anyone.
You want to talk about being bias? What about all of you who took sides before you knew the full story. You all readily defend the police officer without knowing the facts. I wasn't there and I can't understand if James was hand cuffed while running or handcuffed after shot in the back. Either way it is wrong. I read two different reports. All I do know is that it is never ok for an officer to shoot in the back. Not one report states there was a gun shot from James or anyone else for that matter. It's all about the power.
There is a lot of violence all over America, not just WATTS. And slugger I am going to answer the question for you. Your family member was hanging out with some friends, the cops came up harrassing them, your famiy member says I don't deserve this and flees the scene. He shot IN THE BACK! Point blank!!! No questions asked.

— Tanysha seriousy outrage
Do you live in the Imperial Courts?

Tanysha, you have a degree yet have trouble expressing yourself in print. Hopefully you and your cousin making 70k have moved out and will not subject your children to the crime and poverty that thrive in this area. Poverty tends to be generational, out of your 2 generations of proud Watts people, I hope you have progressed and not regressed....but it doesn't sound like it. I'm first generation middle class from Pj and i'm proud and lucky to have escaped this hell hole and will not justify or glamorize it. Thankfully my kids won't have to address anyone as 'cuzz' to survive, or highlight their attire with blue shoestrings, hats, shoes, belts or other childish things that make you acccepted there. PJ FROM PJ'S

To Citizenjohn, you obviously have no clue about what you are talking about. Pleople who live in Watts, namely in the housing projects of Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts are not savage beast. They are poor families who have nowhere else to live. So if you tear down those housing projects where are you planning to send these people? Especially in this economy. Your comment is made out of fear of the unkown. Also not all youth there is up to no good. I lived in Jordan Downs, graduated from David Starr Jordan HS and graduated from Cal State Northridge. Most of my classmates knew that an education will be a ticket to a better future. While I agree that there's gang problems there making general statements about an entire community is wrong.

Watts Resident: I'm sorry if you're offended by the facts. HR: "Watts is among the most dangerous areas patrolled by the LAPD or Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, according to The Times' Crime L.A. database". It's also true that these public housing projects are a magnet for drug dealing, gangs, and violence. Keep an eye on this blog and you'll see continual references to these places. I think we should definitely tear them down and if/when we do, I don't propose to send the people currently living in them (sponging off the taxpayers, actually) anywhere. Let them procure housing however they will in the open market LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO. When did it become the responsibility of hardworking taxpayers to pay for your housing? I also acknowledge that not all youth there is up to no good...just most of them. And there are of course law abiding productive citizens to be found in any community, even Watts. It's just that they're very many of the bad folks living there too, as the statistics bear out.

To Citizenjohn, I am not offended by your statement, I am simply trying to educate you in what you know nothing about. Yes, I agree that the homicide rates is high in these areas but you also need to look at the greater picture as to the reasons why. Your solution of throwing people on the streets is unethical, to say the least. Fortunately not everyone thinks like you. In fact, there are non-profict organizations (most made up by residents themselves) who will voice their concerns and not let this injustice occur. It is easy to jump on the mass wagon and make generalizations, unless you have walked in someone elses shoes.

RUNNING FROM A COP ALONE DOESN'T MAKE IT SUICIDE BY COP AT ALL!!!!! You people are disappointing, so quick to talk when you weren't there. We know nothing as to why he ran and the HR say's nothing about him shooting or even holding a gun. It would be a shame to read about one of you on the HR for ANY REASON and watch your family fight for your good name. SMH I have met my fair share of bad cops just on a traffic violation... harassing my passenger!!! You got your good and you got your bad. MY POINT, STOP JUDGING!! It's a bad look.

Sara,

If you statment isn't the pot calling the kettle black!! You have seen your fair share of bad cops? Isn't that passing judgement? I mean you have no idea why he/she is displaying the actions that he is so take a full mouth of your own advice be our example.

To hear sentiments such as "he got what he deserved" & "human garbage" make my stomach cringe! I love how people who are "better off" seem to relish in the stereotype of the Black Ghetto Thug. Yet, the same people who advocate for the tearing down of the low-income project housing so boistrously are noticably silent when the federal govt is trying to cut head start & Pell Grant funding! The projects were built to breed the exact environment these HUMAN BEINGS live in; one where drugs and crime will obliterate a race of people the larger society no longer has a use for. Where desperation and desolation are so rampant, that people don't even bother trying to do better. It's real easy to blame the victims, when you're not one. And this young man was a victim...another victim of America's Ghettos. My condolences to all who loved him.

— tjisajd; care to comment on the sad political fact that the people who live in these neighborhoods keep electing the same do nothing politicians year after year after year.

If they want a better life for themselves, then the best place to start is right in the face of those politicians that only know how to blame and make noises, yet have no idea how to actually fix the problems.

lets see what other excuses all the criminal supporters come up with now. Its funny how nobody reports how the so-called witnesses were proven to be full of (*&^.

I just saw a video of the crime scene at the time of the shooting,not from the local news,but from an independent reporter,and the police are lying there was no mob,there were like 6 or 7 people there that cooperated with police demands, the boy was unarmed,and an off duty nurse ran to give the boy CPR, and they stopped her.I give everybody the benefit of the doubt, but from what I saw this was murder.They even handcuffed his dead body.I hope the officer can live with himself,because I could'nt if I did such a thing.He knows what really happened.Him and the people helping him lie and cover this crime up need to ask GOD ,and this boys family, for forgiveness.

— The Truth, and what video have you seen? How come the Grand Jury never saw it?

Amazing no one but a select few have seen it. No one else.

I don't think this video even exists.

syscom3, have you heard of judges and/or attorneys decide what can and can't be used as evidence in a court room? Since the entire judicial is corrupted I wouldn't be surprised the video was purposely dismissed as evidence!

Jag, are you saying you have seen the video too?

If this video did exist and isn't being used as evidence, its because it showed nothing and was useless as evidence.

rest in peace james

To all of the people with negatives comments please keep them to yourself if you don't know what your speaking or talking about cause the real.truth has yet tonsurface cause I haven't heard it yet mighty funny how all the witnessesbsays the same thing and was questioned different time and the two police that were involve stories don't match up so if your not apart of his immediate family meaning his mother and sister and brothers I doubt very much u know what's tLong place and for the record his life was a good one he didn't stay in the imperial cougar his mother move him and his siblings away over 20 years ago so.please talk what u know and stop repeTing what you heard that's how people get in trouble

THANKS Thanks to everyone who keeps my son memory alive it is evident I don't need to fight for his justice u all are and I wanna say thank you dearly from the bottom of my heart but please if you don't know the real please watch what u say please and thank you have a blessed one I'm praying for u all