A 34-year-old Los Angeles man was fatally shot by a California Highway Patrol officer in a videotaped interstate struggle, officials said Tuesday.
On April 23, 2020, a California Highway Patrol officer stops a driver in Anaheim, California. On November 20, 2023, a California Highway Patrol officer shot and killed a guy on a freeway in the Los Angeles region following a weekend altercation that was captured on film. (Source: Chris Carlson/AP Photo/File)
Victim Shot by California Patrol Officer Dead on Arrival
Jesse Dominguez’s Sunday afternoon death cause is unknown, according to the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office. The CHP said Dominguez was walking westbound on Interstate 105 in south LA County. Authorities say the man refused to get off the freeway and fought an officer. CHP stated Dominguez tased the officer. “Following the pedestrian’s use of the weapon against the officer, and in fear for his safety, the officer fired his service weapon,” read the report. Hospital staff pronounced Dominguez dead. Media questions were directed to the state attorney general by the CHP. The officer’s name and details regarding the altercation, such as how many rounds were fired and whether the CHP has a policy for freeway wanderers, have not been released.
The bystander posted a minute-long video of police fighting Dominguez on a stopped road. The original footage was shot by unknown filmmakers. As they struggle, a shot is fired, and the cop stands up as the other man drops on the pavement. The video shows the cop shooting the prone victim four times. This clip shows the cop holding his gun while the suspect stays still. The state attorney general’s office, which did not comment Tuesday, is investigating the event under its gunless death monitoring program. State law does not consider stun guns deadly. The family told the Los Angeles Times that drugs or mental illness killed wannabe actor Dominguez. According to the article, he struggled with mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.
READ ALSO: Tragedy Strikes: Fatal Shooting Claims Two Lives and Injures Three in Oklahoma Home
Man Tased the California Patrol Officer
The Times stated that Dominguez’s family said he carried a Taser for protection after threats from other residents at the sober living facility near the highway. I don’t understand why the police engaged. Someone walking on the freeway is wrong. They’re either mentally ill or something else “His stepmother, Akasha Dominguez, told the newspaper. Highway patrol utilizes in-car cameras but not body cams. Former Long Beach deputy chief of police David Dusenbury termed the video clip “extremely troubling” and hoped for further explanation. Dominguez was on the ground and the officer was just a few feet away when he “fires directly into the guy.” He did not think the shooting was justifiable after watching the footage. “I don’t like what I saw, I don’t,” Dusenbury told AP on Tuesday.
Dusenbury said the officer should have had backup to stop the freeway and approached Dominguez slowly with another patrolman. “If they’re wandering in traffic lanes, then you’ve got to conclude that there’s something wrong with this individual,” like alcoholism or mental illness. Representatives of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen did not reply to a request for comment Tuesday.
READ ALSO: Minnesota Man Convicted for Fatally Shooting Wife in Eden Prairie Hotel Room
