Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas on Wednesday will announce his decision on whether to file charges against a Los Angeles Police Department officer who was involved in a non-injury officer- involved shooting that touched off a few days of civil unrest.
Anaheim police in mid-June handed over evidence to prosecutors to review in the case involving Officer Kevin Ferguson. Police said the evidence included more than 400 pages of reports and about 70 CDs and DVDs.
Cellphone video of the firing of the officer’s gun into the ground sparked protests, including one that turned violent and led to nearly two dozen arrests.
Ferguson, who was off duty at the time, fired the gun once in front of a group of youths in the 1600 block of West Palais Avenue on Feb. 21.
Ferguson had confronted the youths about walking on his lawn, which was apparently a persistent problem, former Anaheim Police Chief Raul Quezada said in February 2017. A 13-year-old boy allegedly threatened to shoot Ferguson, which prompted him to try to detain the boy, Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said.
The boy, however, maintained he said he was going to “sue” Ferguson, not shoot him.
As he attempted to do so, the crowd grew and some witnesses began recording portions of the conflict.
One recorded account of the conflict shows one boy barreling into Ferguson, knocking him and the 13-year-old over some bushes. Ferguson continued to maintain his hold on the teen.
Another teen is seen stepping in to try to pull the 13-year-old away, and that teen appears to take a punch at Ferguson, but missed.
As Ferguson is seen continuing to hang on to the 13-year-old and get up, others appeared to converge on the officer, who then pulled out a gun and fired a round into the ground. Ferguson held the teen until police arrived.
Police conducted more than 90 interviews with witnesses, Wyatt said.
–City News Service