Prosecutors in Los Angeles County have determined that the Pasadena police were justified in the fatal shooting of a 47-year-old man. The incident occurred after a nearly half-hour pursuit that ended with a slow-speed, head-on collision with a patrol car.
In a memorandum concerning Lloyd Nelson Jr.’s shooting death on May 8, 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office concluded that officers Connor Duncan, Abelardo Blanchet, Kourtney Zilbert, and Christian Arteaga “acted in lawful self-defense and in defense of others.”
Nelson, a former U.S. Marine and San Diego resident, allegedly made an illegal U-turn and parked his car in the middle of the street on Colorado Boulevard. Upon spotting this, the police initiated a lengthy pursuit that was temporarily called off but resumed when Nelson’s erratic driving was observed from a helicopter.
During the pursuit, Nelson’s vehicle was repeatedly rammed by patrol cars. Eventually, the Mitsubishi collided with one patrol car, and another patrol car collided with the back of Nelson’s vehicle. When Nelson finally came to a stop, he began firing a gun at the officers through his front windshield. He continued shooting after exiting the car, prompting the officers to return fire. It should be noted that another Pasadena police officer, who was not involved in the gunfire, was injured by “friendly fire.”
Nelson sustained 16 gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Police discovered a .45-caliber semi-automatic firearm inside his vehicle, along with two other loaded firearms.
In a separate incident, the Los Angeles Police Department officers Edgar Simental, Joseph Fluty, and Ruben Ovsepyan were found to have acted in lawful self-defense. They fired at Christopher Garcia, who approached them with what appeared to be a semiautomatic pistol and refused to drop it. The incident occurred in the Pacoima area on June 28, 2021.
Garcia was armed with a black metal BB gun resembling a semiautomatic pistol. Body-worn camera footage captured him walking towards the officers and pointing the gun, resulting in several shots being fired. Investigators recovered the BB gun from the scene. The District Attorney’s Office deemed the officers’ actions reasonable based on the circumstances known at the time. The hindsight knowledge that Garcia was armed with a BB gun did not alter this conclusion.
The initial encounter with Garcia occurred when police tried to stop his Honda sedan for speeding. He fled onto northbound Interstate 5 and was eventually found on a dirt embankment of the Terra Bella Street freeway off-ramp. Garcia sustained eight gunshot wounds, including a fatal shot to the back, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
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