LAPD union blames men killed during arrest for escalating incidents

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LOS ANGELES, CA The Los Angeles Police Protection League defended the officers’ actions in the arrests of Keenan Anderson, Takar Smith and Oscar Sanchez in a letter to City Council Thursday.

All three men died over a 25-hour period in January during or shortly after arrests by Los Angeles Police Department officers. Anderson was repeatedly tasered while Smith and Sanchez were shot by arresting officers, according to the LAPD.

“The suspects escalated each of these incidents, not the responding officers,” the union wrote.

The LAPD union said officers used de-escalation tactics and best practices in an effort to calmly engage with the men without using force to subdue them. According to the letter, none of the incidents were mental health service calls, but rather violations of the law, making it inappropriate for the system-wide mental assessment response team to intervene. on site.

“The release of critical incident videos of the shootings involving officers Takar Smith and Oscar Sanchez, as well as the death in custody of Keenan Anderson, have prompted some to abandon the facts and perpetuate the myths about how officers in the LAPD’s response to these incidents and how the Mental Assessment Unit operates,” the union wrote.

Anderson, Smith and Sanchez all died in LAPD custody in the first three days of 2023. Police killed Smith on January 2 and Sanchez on January 3. 3.

At a downtown press conference last week, LAPD Chief Michael Moore said he was concerned about the three use-of-force encounters, and he pledged to investigate. full internals. Moore said he was concerned that in all three cases the suspects appeared to be suffering from mental health crises, but the department’s mental health response team was not called.

The union’s letter responds to concerns from city officials and community members that units from the Mental Assessment Unit are not being called to any of the scenes. These units are secondary responders and are intended to be called upon after a situation has de-escalated to perform mental assessments of detainees, the union argues.

“In none of the three incidents… would a SMART unit have played a primary role. And in no case would an unarmed clinician be inserted into an incident where there are weapons, volatility and/or an ongoing crime is committed,” LAPPL said.

The letter also directly addressed comments from LA Mayor Karen Bass and Council Member Marqueece Harris Dawson, saying the two officials misunderstood the MEU’s mission, policies, procedures and protocols.

In a statement released Jan. 11, Bass said she was “deeply troubled” that mental health professionals were not called to the scene. Union officials said they shared a desire to address Los Angeles’ mental health crisis and improve outcomes.

According to the union, there are an average of four to eight system-wide mental assessment response teams available citywide, and the number of calls for service far exceeds the response capacity of the units. The union suggested that there was a need to increase the number of mental assessment response teams to respond to the high volume of calls.

“When there is no immediate risk to others, law enforcement should not be the first responder when someone is going through a mental health crisis. I believe officers and Angelenos are okay on that,” Bass said.

Following public outcry over the deaths of the three men, Dawson offered an alternative to policing to deal with traffic stops. The council member said he believed people should not be met by armed officers for minor offences, such as running a red light.

The union, however, opposed Dawson’s proposal and claimed he was confusing simple traffic enforcement with the police response to a traffic accident where a suspect flees the crash.

“If Councilman Dawson wants to legalize the car crash escape and stop the police from enforcing traffic laws, including speeding, suspected drunk driving, running red lights and breaking stop signs, then he should put it in a motion and bring it to his co-workers for a vote,” the union wrote.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following LAPD body camera footage contains graphic footage of the arrest and shooting of Oscar Sanchez.

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