Update (June 28, 2019): The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department released horrifying video footage of officers shooting and killing 24-year-old Ryan Twyman on June 6 after weeks of protests.
The Sheriff's Department admitted that their officers fired more than 34 shots into Twyman’s car. One officer even took the time to go back to the police vehicle to get an assault rifle so he could fire more shots.
The video shows officers approaching Twyman’s parked Kia in an apartment complex in South Los Angeles. Weeks prior to the incident, police had been searching for Twyman because they hoped to arrest him for felony gun possession.
When a detective notified officers that Twyman was in a white Kia and frequented the apartment complex on South San Pedro street, deputies showed up with guns drawn.
One officer approached from the passenger side and opened the door to the back seat with his gun raised. Twyman began driving in reverse and the open car door struck the officer. In the newly released video, Commander April Tardy explained that the officer was struck by the door and struggled to regain his balance as he avoided being run over by the vehicle. In the moments that followed, officers began to fire dozens of rounds into the vehicle. Twyman was shot multiple times in the chest and died, but his passenger was unharmed and later released.
The Sheriff's Department said it had a rule in place banning officers from firing at moving vehicles and had already placed the two officers on desk duty until an investigation was finished. They refuse to release the names of the officers who fired the shots that killed Twyman.
“To some people this is news,” Twyman’s father, Charles, said to the LA Times.
“But it's destroying us.”
Twyman’s family has already hired a lawyer, Brian Dunn, to file excessive force claims against the Sheriff's Department. Twyman’s large family has led huge protests complaining that the officers had no right to end Twyman’s life. He left behind three small children.
“Shooting at a moving motor vehicle is something that only happens in movies. Police are trained to get out of the way. That is their training,” Dunn told the LA Times.
“Your job is to apprehend. If there’s punishment, it should come from a judge and jury.”
Original: Days after celebrating his 24th birthday, the family of Ryan Twyman are now mourning his death after he was reportedly fatally shot by Los Angeles County police on June 6.
According to SBRBN, Twyman, who is Black, was sitting in his vehicle with a friend when authorities arrived at the scene. Fearing officers would heckle them, a female relative of the victim began to exit the scene of the crime. When Twyman followed suit, police surrounded his car, making it impossible for him to escape.
A deputy alleges he saw a firearm in Twyman's possession, so they began shooting at the victim. After running out of bullets, the officer retreated to his vehicle, grabbed another firearm and continued shooting the gentleman.
"During that contact with two individuals, a deputy-involved shooting occurred," Sgt. Charles Calderaro said in a statement obtained by KTLA. "One individual was struck in the upper torso and later was pronounced dead at the scene."
Unable to cover funeral costs, Twyman's family have started a GoFundMe page in the wake of the ambush.