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From: HR-Defense@aol.com (Shy David)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: REPORT ON THE DEATH OF Margaret Laverne Mitchell
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2002 06:17:33 GMT
Keywords: crime syndicate, facts about scientology
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The original document is in Adobe Acrobat: I tried to recreate it in
plain ASCII, but the formatting was trashed. I've done my best to glue
all of the notes together properly, and create a readable format. No
doubt I did not render the ASCII version perfectly.

The document has "The Most Ethical Organization on the Planet"
(Scientology Inc.) interfering with a police investigation, with
associated shenanigans.



===============

REPORT ON THE DEATH OF Margaret Laverne Mitchell
JUSTICE SYSTEM INTEGRITY DIVISION
STEVE COOLEY

District Attorney

August 7, 2001

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary ... ... ... ... . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... .. 1
Factual Analysis ... .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... .. 4
Introduction ... ... .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... .. 5
Witness Statements ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... .. 6
Officer Kathy Clark ... . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... .. 6
James Moody ... ... ...  ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 12
Officer Hope Young ... ..... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 17
Derrick Keaton ... ... ..... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 21
Pamela Littky ... ... ...... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 26
Gary Miller ... ... ... . .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 28
Officer John Goines ... .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 32
Jon Menick ... ... ... ...   ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 37
Michael Leinert .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 39
Kelly Page ... ...   ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 42
Barry Henley ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 45
Medical Evidence ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 48
Larrigan's Background... ... ... ... ... . . ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 48
Physical Evidence ... ... ... .... ... ... . ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... .. 49
Mitchell's Criminal history ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... ... 50
Legal Analysis ... ... ... ... ... ... ...  ... ... ... ... ... ...
.. ... ... 51

SUMMARY

The Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office has completed its review of the May 21,
1999, fatal shooting of Margaret Laverne Mitchell by Los Angeles
Police Department Officer Edward Larrigan during a pedestrian
encounter near the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street in
the City of Los Angeles. After a thorough review of this case, it is
the determination of this office that the available evidence has been
compromised and is so conflicting that any criminal prosecution could
not withstand potential defense challenges that the shooting was
either accidental or in self-defense. 

The District Attorney's former Special Investigations Division
launched an investigation into the Mitchell shooting on August 29,
1999, when the Los Angeles Police Department ("L.A.P.D.") completed
its inquiry into the shooting and presented its findings. The District
Attorney's "Rollout" program was not in effect in 1999, having been
eliminated in September 1995 by the District Attorney in office at
that time. 

Under the program, which was reinstated seven months after Mitchell
was killed, a Deputy District Attorney and a Senior District Attorney
Investigator respond to the scene of officer-involved shootings to
conduct a separate investigation of the incident. They have an
opportunity to participate in the initial civilian witness interviews
immediately following a police shooting. This provides a fresh and
unhampered assessment of a witness's perceptive abilities and
credibility. 

There was, however, no such early opportunity to objectively assess
the witnesses in the Mitchell shooting, which ultimately led to an
exhaustive investigation that included the utilization of the Los
Angeles County Grand Jury. 

As the District Attorney's Office began examining the evidence amassed
by L.A.P.D., it became clear there were conflicting forces at work
that severely hampered this office's attempts to investigate the
Mitchell shooting. 

There were 11 key percipient witnesses, including three L.A.P.D.
officers, who were crucial to the case. Nine of those witnesses were
interviewed on audiotape by L.A.P.D. investigators. All but one was
interviewed on the day of the shooting or shortly thereafter. 

Approximately one year later, an agent with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, ("F.B.I.") interviewed six of these witnesses, but,
pursuant to F.B.I. policies, did not tape record their statements. The
Mitchell family hired an attorney, Leo Terrell, to pursue civil
litigation against the City of Los Angeles. At least three of the
witnesses had their depositions taken by this attorney, who claimed to
represent four of the 11 percipient witnesses in the case. 

In January 2001, nine of the 11 percipient witnesses testified before
the Grand Jury 

during an investigative hearing initiated by this office. The
remaining two witnesses participated in voluntary, videotaped
interviews by District Attorney personnel several months earlier. 

When the witnesses' statements and testimony were analyzed, along with
the physical and scientific evidence, a troubling picture emerged.
Three witnesses radically changed their statements both as to the
facts and their attitudes toward L.A.P.D. Statements from six other
witnesses remained consistent, for the most part. The remaining two
witnesses refused to be interviewed by L.A.P.D. or this office, based,
in part, on advice of the Mitchell family attorney. Their statements
could be analyzed only on the basis of their Grand Jury testimony,
which was taken nearly two years after the Mitchell shooting. Although
the witnesses represented by the Mitchell family attorney had no
apparent monetary interest in the outcome of the civil wrongful death
lawsuit, the Mitchell family attorney advised at least one of them
against cooperating with police and refused to make any witnesses
available out of his presence for interviews by the District
Attorney's Office as they attempted to conduct their investigation.
These actions prevented early, untainted interviews with at least one
witness and destroyed any appearance of impartiality. 

As a result, there is no clear picture of the Mitchell shooting. Three
conflicting factual scenarios were described by the witnesses: 

• Larrigan accidentally discharged his service weapon and shot
Mitchell when he lost his balance and fell, or nearly fell, to the
ground. 

• Mitchell lunged toward Larrigan from several feet away as if
attempting to stab him with a screwdriver, and was shot when Larrigan
responded by firing his weapon in self-defense. 

• Larrigan, for no apparent reason and without provocation, shot
Mitchell as she fled from him or when she turned back momentarily to
look at him.2 Because of the state of the evidence, it cannot be
proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Larrigan did not (1) act
lawfully in self-defense and in the defense of others, or (2)
accidentally discharge his firearm. Accordingly, the conflicting
evidence cannot support a criminal prosecution. 

This factual dilemma might have been minimized had the District
Attorney's "Rollout" program been operating when Mitchell was shot. It
also might have been minimized had not efforts by law enforcement,
including this office, been encumbered and, in some cases, compromised
by actions taken in pursuit of the Mitchell family's civil lawsuit. It
is regrettable that this office did not have the opportunity to make
an unhindered inquiry of the witnesses at the earliest possible
opportunity. 

Not only would a clearer picture of the shooting emerged, but this
office would have resolved the matter much sooner. 

FACTUAL ANALYSIS 

The analysis herein is based on our examination of the following
materials: (1) an investigative file prepared by L.A.P.D. and
submitted to this office, which includes, among other things, L.A.P.D.
property reports, L.A.P.D. forensic reports regarding firearm,
fingerprint and blood analyses, an Autopsy Report of Margaret Mitchell
prepared by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner, a diagram of
the scene, a total of 71 photographs including those of the location,
the involved officers and the physical evidence, Mitchell's criminal
history and copies of citations issued to Mitchell; (2) transcripts of
L.A.P.D. tape-recorded interviews of 20 witnesses which took place
between May 21, 1999, and June 7, 1999; (3) copies of the audio tapes
of L.A.P.D.'s interview with witness James Moody; (4) L.A.P.D.
internal records relating to Larrigan entitled Personnel Package,
Divisional Package, TEAMS (Training Evaluation and Management System)
Reports, and Personnel Complaint Index; (5) copies of the deposition
transcripts of Officers Kathy Clark and John Goines; (6) a video tape
of excerpts of Clark's and Goines' depositions; (7) F.B.I. interview
reports of witnesses Gary Miller, James Moody, Derrick Keaton, Henry
Johnson, Nick Vasile, Jay Ganzi, Barry Henley, Shawn Pepper, Officer
John Goines, and Officer Renne Hope Young; (8) typed reports of the
interviews of Kelly Page and Mark Lawrence by L.A.P.D.
Robbery-Homicide detectives on January 4, 2000 3 ; and (9) two
L.A.P.D. audio tapes of radio communications, one of which is numbered
206281. 

At the time of this incident, according to the policy of the District
Attorney's Office then in effect, representatives of the District
Attorney's Office did not respond to the scene of this shooting and
were not present during witness interviews conducted by L.A.P.D. The
District Attorney's Office, however, conducted a supplementary
investigation which consisted of the video-taped interviews of
witnesses Gary Miller and Pamela Littky, and a Grand Jury
investigative hearing, during which witnesses James Moody, Derrick
Keaton, Barry Henley, Kelly Page, Michael Leinert, Jon Menick, and
Officers Goines, Young and Clark testified.4 

Introduction 

The circumstances leading to the fatal shooting of Margaret Mitchell
can be summarized as follows: On Friday, May 21, 1999, at
approximately 4:00 p.m., or shortly thereafter, L.A.P.D. bicycle
patrol Officers Edward Larrigan and Kathy Clark attempted to stop
pedestrian Mitchell near the intersection of Third Street and La Brea
Avenue, in Los Angeles, to conduct an investigation regarding her
illegally possessing a shopping cart. Mitchell appeared to be and, in
fact, was a homeless woman who spent her time in that general area.
When first observed, Mitchell was pushing a shopping cart eastbound on
the south side of Third Street towards La Brea Avenue. From there,
Mitchell turned southbound on the west sidewalk of La Brea Avenue, and
continued toward Fourth Street. Larrigan and Clark followed behind her
on their bicycles. Some kind of verbal interaction took place between
the officers and Mitchell at that time, and it became apparent that
Mitchell was not willing to voluntarily stop and submit to the
officers' commands. The officers also observed a screwdriver in
Mitchell's possession, which at some points was in the shopping cart
and at other times was in Mitchell's right hand. Near the intersection
of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue, Larrigan and Clark dismounted
their bicycles and followed Mitchell on foot. As the three individuals
were proceeding southbound on the west sidewalk of La Brea Avenue,
there was some further verbal exchange, during which the officers
repeated their command that Mitchell stop and Mitchell conveyed her
continued unwillingness to stop. During this time, Mitchell was
holding the screwdriver in her right hand toward the officers in a
manner that, at least for certain periods of time, indicated that she
was prepared to use it as a weapon, either offensively or defensively.
Both Larrigan and Clark had their service weapons drawn as they
proceeded. All three were in motion most of the time, with Mitchell
moving southbound, and the officers, north of her, also moving
southbound. Mitchell maintained possession of the cart. 

On the southwest corner of La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street was a
Chrysler/Jeep car dealership with windows facing La Brea Avenue. Also,
there was vehicular traffic travelling south and northbound on La Brea
Avenue. By this point, several people in the car dealership, in
passing vehicles and on the sidewalk, were aware that an unfriendly
police encounter was occurring and their attention was drawn to
Mitchell and the officers. 

These three individuals got to a point just south of the car
dealership, approximately 110 feet south of Fourth Street, near a
newspaper stand. Exactly what happened at this point is unclear;
various witnesses described these crucial moments in different ways.
There was, apparently, some further interaction and movement by the
involved parties, the culmination of which was that Mitchell was
fatally wounded by a single shot from Larrigan's service weapon. This
projectile entered Mitchell's right, front upper chest, and exited her
left upper back. The shot was fired from a distance of two or more
feet. The statements provided by the witnesses are detailed below,
along with the remainder of the evidence. 

Witness Statements 

Officer Kathy Clark 

Clark provided statements regarding this incident on three separate
occasions: (1) Beginning at 11:32 p.m. on the night of the incident
she was interviewed by L.A.P.D. Robbery-Homicide investigators at
L.A.P.D. Wilshire Area Station; (2) Clark's deposition was taken by
attorney Terrell on July 11, 2000, at Terrell's law offices; and (3)
On January 31, 2001, Clark testified before the Grand Jury. All of
these statements were recorded. 

May 21, 1999 interview: During her interview by L.A.P.D. detectives on
the night of the incident, Clark, who had been an officer for three
and one-half years, explained that for the past seven to eight months
she had been working the bicycle detail, and that a significant
portion of her duties was the enforcement of shopping cart violations.
Local businesses and residents complained that transients took
shopping carts from markets and frequently used them in connection
with the sales of narcotics, especially crack cocaine. 

Clark stated that she was on routine patrol with her partner, Officer
Edward Larrigan, riding their bicycles eastbound on Third Street
approaching La Brea Avenue, when they saw Mitchell 5 pushing a
shopping cart southbound on the west side of La Brea Avenue. Both
officers were wearing bicycle shorts and polo shirts which bore an
L.A.P.D. insignia. Clark also wore a jacket with the word "police" on
the back and L.A.P.D. badges on the sides. Clark's metal badge was
visible. Clark had seen Mitchell in the area before and believed
Mitchell was a woman considered by several bicycle officers to be a
"problem transient", in that she was verbally abusive,
non-cooperative, frequently agitated, and, at times, would refuse to
sign citations. Because Clark and Larrigan observed that Mitchell had
personal items rather than groceries in the cart, they decided to
conduct a "pedestrian stop", and turned south on La Brea Avenue,
positioning themselves behind her. 

Mitchell turned around, looked at the officers behind her and started
screaming profanities. Among other things, Mitchell said, "Get away
from me. I'm going to kill you." Mitchell continued pushing her cart
southbound, at a rapid pace, and Clark and Larrigan fell back.
Larrigan told Clark that Mitchell had a screwdriver in her hand, which
was something Clark had not seen. Clark and Larrigan discussed the
shopping cart violation as well as the public safety issue posed by
Mitchell's possession of the screwdriver. They also considered that
Mitchell might be under the influence of some substance or mentally
ill. Clark and Larrigan decided to continue pursuing her. At Fourth
Street and La Brea Avenue, Clark and Larrigan caught up with Mitchell,
identified themselves as police officers, and said, "We need to speak
to you, Ma'am." Mitchell who was facing north and slightly northeast,
walked away from her cart and "drew" the screwdriver toward the
officers in a "threatening manner". Clark described Mitchell as
holding the screwdriver in a stabbing position, with the blade pointed
down and the handle in her hand. Several times, according to Clark,
Mitchell waved it around and raised it over her head. Again, Mitchell
told the officers to leave her alone and threatened to kill them. Both
Clark and Larrigan unholstered their weapons at that point and told
her to drop the screwdriver several times. 

Just at that moment, an unknown male 6 who had driven up in a red car
approached them and said to Mitchell, "Drop it. Drop it. You're going
to get hurt." This individual attempted to advance past the officers,
but Clark asked him to stay back behind them. Although Clark had to
tell him to get back more than once, he eventually complied. Clark did
not consider using her "O.C." (Oleoresin Capsicum) spray on Mitchell
because she thought O.C. spray would not be effective on someone who
was under the influence of narcotics or mentally ill. The officers'
decision to continue to pursue the matter with Mitchell was based on
their fear that she could have harmed someone in or near the
dealership or walking on the sidewalk. 

Mitchell then suddenly ran from the southwest corner of Fourth Street
and La Brea Avenue, heading southbound on the west sidewalk of La Brea
Avenue. She continued for a total distance of approximately ten yards,
during which time she was waving the screwdriver which was in her
right hand and yelling and screaming at Clark and Larrigan. As
Mitchell ran away from them, Clark was not in a position to see how
she was holding the screwdriver. During this time, Larrigan put out a
call for assistance, believing they were in a potentially hazardous
situation. 

Clark and Larrigan approached Mitchell again. Mitchell stopped, turned
around, faced them, and held the screwdriver in a stabbing motion,
like she had done earlier, with the blade pointing downward. Mitchell
was waving the screwdriver frantically above her head and screaming,
telling the officers to leave her alone and threatening to kill them. 

At this point, the shopping cart was in front of Mitchell, Clark was
to Mitchell's left, and Larrigan was to her right. She was
approximately eight to ten feet from the officers, both of whom had
their guns drawn. They told her to drop the screwdriver several times
and identified themselves as police officers. Mitchell made eye
contact with both Clark and Larrigan. Clark thought Mitchell looked
deranged and angry. 

Clark feared that Mitchell was going to lunge towards her. With the
screwdriver raised and moving in her hand, Mitchell looked at Clark
and then focused on Larrigan. She then lunged forward toward Larrigan
and, from a position in which it was raised above her head, lowered
the screwdriver down in a stabbing motion. Clark, with her peripheral
vision, saw Larrigan involved in some movement. She did not know
whether he stumbled or fell, but she observed some commotion occurring
in that direction. Fearing for Larrigan's life, Clark thought about
discharging her weapon, but she was conscious of the rush hour
vehicular traffic in her line of sight and behind Mitchell. As she was
contemplating this, she heard Larrigan's gun discharge. 

As Mitchell fell to the ground, Clark observed the screwdriver fall
out of her hand. Clark vividly recalled that the screwdriver was
longer than most. She estimated the blade portion to be seven to eight
inches long. Larrigan made a request for a supervisor and an
ambulance. Clark and Larrigan were transported separately to the
station. July 11, 2000, deposition: 

During her deposition, Clark was not questioned in great detail by
attorney Terrell about the facts of the incident. Terrell, however,
did explore the question of whether Larrigan pushed the shopping cart
back toward Mitchell when the three of them were at the corner of
Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue.7 Clark stated that she did not
believe Larrigan ever pushed the shopping cart back toward Mitchell,
although he stopped it with his foot. Clark also stated that at that
time, neither she nor Larrigan removed the screwdriver from the cart.
She explained that she did not remove the screwdriver because the cart
was approximately six feet away, putting it out of reach. Clark did
say during the deposition that in her opinion, Larrigan could have
done something to take control of the cart at that time. 

Clark also clarified that she, personally, did not notify L.A.P.D.
communications of her location. Finally, in response to attorney
Terrell's question, Clark stated that she did not agree with the
Police Commission's findings that the shooting was "out-of-policy",
because she believed Larrigan acted to defend his life. 

January 31, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

The following summary does not reiterate any of the previous
statements made by Clark, but includes only those portions of Clark's
Grand Jury testimony that are either supplemental to or inconsistent
with her two previous statements 8 . 

Clark explained that at the time of the shooting, she and Larrigan had
been partners for one month. She described them as equal partners even
though he had been a police officer longer, since she had more
experience on this particular detail. She also testified that on the
day in question, they had started working at 11:00 a.m. and their
shift was scheduled to end at 7:45 p.m. During an average shift, Clark
estimated she handled as few as three or as many as ten shopping cart
violation investigations. Clark testified that the prior contact she
had with Mitchell occurred when she was on duty with her former
partner. She explained that while they were on patrol, they had
observed Mitchell and suspected that she was illegally possessing a
shopping cart. When Clark suggested to her partner that they pursue
the violation, her partner replied, "keep on going, we don’t need the
headache". Clark also explained that during the current incident, she,
at first, did not recognize Mitchell. Once the situation escalated,
however, Clark realized she had been in contact with Mitchell on this
prior occasion and had heard other officers speak of their negative
experiences with Mitchell. 

Clark testified that when they first followed Mitchell southbound on
La Brea Avenue from Third Street, Clark was not sure whether they had
said anything to Mitchell before Mitchell started yelling at them.
Something caused Mitchell to turn around, but Clark did not know
whether it was the noise from their bicycles, their radio or their
instructions to her. When Mitchell first addressed them, Mitchell said
something similar to, "motherfuckers, get away from me; get the hell
away from me" and "motherfuckers, I am going to kill you". Clark,
however, stated that she was not certain of the exact words used by
Mitchell, although she was certain Mitchell threatened to kill them.
During her testimony, Clark could not recall exactly when or where she
and Larrigan were when they first identified themselves as police
officers, but she knew that they had. It was her standard procedure.
She thought that it might have been when they were at the corner of
Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue. She also stated that it never went
through her mind that Mitchell did not comprehend that they were
police officers. 

Clark also testified that before she was aware that Mitchell had a
screwdriver in her hand, Clark's preference was to drop the matter.
According to Clark, she had said to Larrigan, "she's very aggravated
by us for some reason and it's just a misdemeanor; we can cite her
another day - let’s just give her a ticket another day". Once Clark
was alerted to the presence of the screwdriver, however, she became
concerned and felt they had to pursue the matter. 

Clark also testified that as they were dismounting their bicycles at
the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street, Mitchell pushed
the shopping cart toward Larrigan and he braced it with his foot. Then
without using his hands, he pushed it back toward her. Mitchell,
however, never relinquished the cart and kept her hands on it as she
pushed it. Clark testified that this event wherein Mitchell and
Larrigan pushed the cart between them happened very quickly: Mitchell
pushed the cart toward Larrigan, Larrigan pushed it back, and the next
thing Clark recalled was that Mitchell had the screwdriver in her
hand. By the time Clark had gotten completely off her bicycle,
Mitchell was holding the screwdriver. 

Clark testified that when they were at the intersection of La Brea
Avenue and Fourth Street, Mitchell was "in a corner" and Clark was
formulating a plan to use non-lethal means to subdue Mitchell. Clark
considered employing a bean-bag shotgun or a taser, which would have
necessitated getting a back-up unit. Also, it was at that point that
Larrigan indicated he was going to use his O.C. spray. Neither Clark
nor Larrigan, however, removed their O.C. spray or requested a
bean-bag shotgun or a taser. At that moment, Clark heard the honking
of a car horn and the citizen, who Clark described as a middle-aged
African-American male, intervened. Clark testified that before this
man approached Mitchell, Clark believed they had Mitchell contained
and they had a plan to use non-lethal force. In Clark’s opinion, after
the citizen interfered, they lost control of the situation. Although
he may have been trying to help, the intervention of the citizen, in
Clark's mind, had the opposite effect. 

Clark said that not only had she asked the intervening citizen to get
back, she believed that she reached out for him, and, she was certain
that Larrigan physically pulled him back. Clark testified that it was
when Larrigan pulled this person back, that Mitchell took the
opportunity to run around the corner and head southbound from Fourth
Street on the west sidewalk of La Brea Avenue. 

Clark explained that it never occurred to her to attempt to force the
screwdriver out of Mitchell's hand. In Clark's opinion, the proximity
to Mitchell necessary to accomplish successfully disarming her, would
have been an unsafe distance, from which Mitchell could have easily
stabbed them.9 

Clark also testified that no one threatened to shoot Mitchell or said,
"Stop or I’ll shoot." 

Further, no other citizen other than the man who had intervened at the
corner of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue became involved in the
incident. There were no other pedestrians in their immediate vicinity
on the sidewalk, and the shopping cart never fell over on its side. 

Clark could not recall whether she re-holstered her gun as they
pursued Mitchell southbound from Fourth Street, but she believed she
kept it drawn in a "low-ready" position 10 . Clark also testified that
although she wanted to keep a safe distance behind Mitchell, she also
wanted to "close in" on Mitchell to some extent. When asked, Clark
testified that she understood the term "drag-stepping"11 , but stated
that she did not engage in this during the pursuit of Mitchell and had
not been trained to "drag-step" as a way of maintaining balance. 

Clark described Mitchell as partially running and partially walking
fast. Clark said that Mitchell did not hesitate or turn back towards
the officers as she proceeded south on La Brea Avenue. Clark also
testified that she did not believe she or Larrigan said anything to
Mitchell as they proceeded south on La Brea Avenue. All Clark
remembered verbalizing at that time was her concern to Larrigan that
they needed to do something, i.e., get assistance from other units,
because the situation seemed out of control and people could get hurt.


Clark described more specifically what happened before Mitchell was
shot. Immediately before the shooting, Mitchell lunged at Larrigan,
but Clark testified that she would hesitate to describe the action as
a "full out lunge". Clark testified that Mitchell's arm was raised
above her head, and she took a step toward Larrigan, closing the
distance. Further, Clark estimated that Mitchell was eight to ten feet
from Clark and approximately one foot closer to Larrigan. Clark did
not see where Mitchell received the gunshot wound, but from the
relative positions of Larrigan and Mitchell, Clark would expect it to
have been to the front part of Mitchell's torso between the waist and
shoulder. Clark also that after the shooting a female off-duty
L.A.P.D. officer 12 came up from behind and a female minister[sic] 13
came out of the car dealership and asked if she could attend to
Mitchell. Clark recalled that the minister[sic] said something like,
"look at her, she's dying, let me tend to her". Clark did not know if
the minister[sic] was permitted to approach Mitchell, and Clark said
she needed a minute to let her know. The minister[sic] was insistent
and said, "no, let me tend to her, look at her". A supervisor came on
the scene and Clark was told that the minister[sic] could approach
Mitchell, so Clark gave the minister[sic] permission. Clark also
recalled that a male L.A.P.D. officer 14 came to the scene from across
the street. Clark recalled that he approached on motorcycle, rather
than foot. James Moody 

James Moody, the citizen who approached Mitchell and the officers
during this incident in an attempt to persuade Mitchell to cooperate,
has given formal statements on three occasions; (1) On the evening of
May 21, 1999, the day of the incident, he was interviewed on
audio-tape by L.A.P.D. investigators at the L.A.P.D. Wilshire Station;
(2) On January 27, 2000, he provided a statement to F.B.I. Special
Agent R. E. Stapleton, Jr.; and (3) On January 29, 2001, he testified
during a Grand Jury investigative hearing. At the time of the
shooting, Moody was 68 years old. 

May 21, 1999, interview: 

During his L.A.P.D. interview, Moody explained that earlier that
afternoon he had been near the intersection of Fourth Street and La
Brea Avenue shopping for lamps with his wife. He had driven through
the alley from Third Street to Fourth Street and was at the
intersection of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue, in the eastbound
right turn lane about to turn right on La Brea Avenue.15 At that
point, Moody noticed something occurring involving a male police
officer who Moody described as "large"16 , a female police officer and
an elderly lady pushing a shopping cart. (Hereinafter these
individuals will be referred to as "Larrigan", "Clark" and
"Mitchell"). Moody recognized Larrigan and Clark as police officers
because of their uniforms, which were blue and included shorts and
helmets. 

Moody observed that the officers, who had gotten off their bicycles,
were trying to approach Mitchell, but Mitchell was backing away from
them with her cart. It appeared to Moody that Mitchell was trying to
keep a distance between herself and the officers. Moody heard Mitchell
say, "you're not a cop, you're not the police" to the officers.17 In
Moody's opinion, Mitchell sounded deranged. As she said this, Mitchell
held a screwdriver in her right hand "swinging" it at the officers.
When asked to describe exactly what Mitchell was doing with the
screwdriver, Moody said, "She was hitting at him, like the - - trying
to stab him or cut him or something with it." During this interaction,
Moody did not hear exactly what the officers said to Mitchell because
he was too focussed on what was occurring. He knew they said something
and believed one of them yelled, "put it down". Moody estimated that
at the time, Larrigan was approximately two shopping cart lengths away
from Mitchell and clearly "not close enough to [be] hit . . . because
he wasn't going to let her get that close." Moody also estimated that
his distance from this encounter was between 12 and 16 feet. 

Moody got out of his car and said something to Mitchell like, "Ma'am
just wait a minute. You don't do that. These are officers." Moody was
trying to get Mitchell to calm down and convince her that the officers
were not going to hurt her. Mitchell, however, did not respond to
Moody but repeated, "they ain't no police - they ain't no police" and,
"kept on striking with [the screwdriver]". Moody ran up to Larrigan
and said, "let me try to help get her", believing he could have
somehow gotten the screwdriver from her. The officers said, "that's
okay". Moody again said to them, "let me try", and he started to
approach Mitchell. Although she still had the screwdriver in her hand,
Moody was not concerned for his safety because he did not believe
Mitchell could get to him before he could get to her. The police,
however, told him to get back and pulled him over 18 , and he stayed
back. Again the police said, "that's okay, don't worry about it" and
told him that he should not be involved in the situation. In Moody's
opinion, his actions did not distract the police from dealing with
Mitchell because after telling him to get back, Moody simply watched
from a distance and did not follow them when they went south on La
Brea Avenue. 

From where she had been on the corner, Mitchell then ran south on La
Brea Avenue with the officers following her. She was pulling the
shopping cart and still "swinging" the screwdriver toward the
officers. In Moody's words, Mitchell was moving the screwdriver "back
and forth" and "sticking at them" with the screwdriver. Mitchell also
continued to yell at the officers, but Moody did not know what she was
saying. 

Larrigan ran to where Mitchell was, and Clark stayed back on the
"other side" of Larrigan near the front of the building that housed
the car dealership. From Moody's perspective, it appeared that
Larrigan was in charge because he, rather than Clark, was running
toward Mitchell. Larrigan, positioned himself closer to Mitchell, no
more than four to five feet away, and was getting ready to "get her"
and disarm her. Moody stated, "He could have stopped her with his
hands. That's what he was going to try to do, I think." According to
Moody, with Mitchell holding the shopping cart by the handle and
swinging the screwdriver with the other hand, Larrigan was getting
close enough so as to be able to disarm her. From his observations,
Moody felt Larrigan "knew what he was doing". Mitchell continued to
swing the screwdriver toward Larrigan, although, in Moody's opinion,
she could not have hit him with it. Moody described Mitchell as "going
back and forth" with the screwdriver, and as "slinging" it. Moody was
clear, however, that Mitchell did not raise the screwdriver over her
head as if preparing to throw it. According to Moody, Larrigan had
nothing in his hands. Larrigan ran towards Mitchell and was going to
attempt to push the cart at Mitchell. In Moody’s opinion, Larrigan
wanted to scare her so she would stop what she was doing with the
screwdriver. Moody did not think Larrigan was going to get hurt
because he seemed trained on how to handle this kind of situation.
According to Moody, Larrigan "dove kind of like" at Mitchell. Mitchell
brandished the screwdriver again at Larrigan, and as he was getting
ready to try to "grab" her a second time, Clark shot Mitchell. Moody,
at another point during this interview, described Mitchell as making
"stabbing" motions immediately before she was shot. Moody believed
that Larrigan did not mean for Mitchell to get shot. 

Moody stated several times throughout this interview that it was
Clark, rather than Larrigan, who shot Mitchell. When asked if he was
certain that Clark shot Mitchell, Moody said, "I'd put my life on the
chopping block. He didn't shoot that lady." Moody reported that he saw
Clark get her gun and shoot towards the street where Mitchell was:
"[Question]: Did you see the officer point the gun? [Answer]: I saw
the officer when she got her gun. I wasn't looking at nothing else.
[Question]: When she shot, was she shooting towards the street from --
[Answer]: Yep, she was shooting toward the streets to -- not exactly.
The streets where the lady was -- where she was shooting." 

Moody described Larrigan as being so close to Mitchell at the time of
the shooting that Moody believed, at first, that Larrigan, rather than
Mitchell, was the person who got shot. According to Moody, at the time
of the shooting Larrigan was no more than four or five feet from
Mitchell and Clark was six to seven feet from Mitchell. Mitchell was
positioned close to the curb with her cart, trying to "swing" the
screwdriver. Moody, at the time of the shooting, was 14 to 15 feet
away. He explained during this interview that he had walked along the
sidewalk up to the planters near the car dealership, and could see
everything that happened. 

Moody also reported that at or near the time of the shooting, Larrigan
had fallen to the ground. This fact also contributed to Moody's
momentary belief that Larrigan, rather than Mitchell, had been shot.
When asked how Larrigan fell to the ground, Moody stated that Larrigan
had been running towards the shopping cart and pushed it, and might
have slipped a little. Or, when Larrigan grabbed the shopping cart,
Moody theorized that the wheels of the cart might have been improperly
attached, thus causing Larrigan to fall. In Moody's opinion, the
shooting was unnecessary. Larrigan was going to try to push the cart
up to Mitchell and disarm her, and even he, Moody, could have
prevented Mitchell from doing anything with the screwdriver. According
to Moody, a lot of people saw what happened, but they did not want to
say anything and they did not come down to the station. Moody,
however, "couldn't stand seeing that" so he made a statement. 

January 27, 2000, interview: 

Moody was interviewed by Special Agent Stapleton of the F.B.I.
Pursuant to F.B.I. policy, this interview was not recorded in any way.
This summary, therefore, relies on the accuracy of Moody’s statements
as they are reflected in the report prepared by Stapleton. The
following summary of this F.B.I. interview includes only those
statements that either supplement or conflict with Moody's L.A.P.D.
interview. 

Moody explained that although Mitchell was waving the screwdriver at
the officers, she did not do so in a manner that would cause the
officers to fear for their lives. Mitchell never extended her arms or
lunged at the officers. She was waving the screwdriver only in the
area of the shopping cart that normally contains a child seat and
keeping it close to her body. Moody told the F.B.I. agent that he
never observed Mitchell wave the screwdriver in a stabbing motion and
never felt the officers' lives were in danger. Moody stated that after
the officers followed Mitchell southbound on La Brea Avenue, they both
got within four or five feet of her. Also, he stated that both
Larrigan and Clark had their weapons drawn. Moody told the F.B.I.
agent that it was when he turned away for a few seconds to check on
his car, that a shot was fired. When he turned back, Mitchell was
falling to the ground and Larrigan, who was stumbling off the curb,
still had his weapon out. Moody said Larrigan came close to falling
all the way to the ground, but did not. Moody also stated that
although he did not see the shot fired, he is sure it was Larrigan,
rather than Clark, who fired the round. 

Moody believed that if the officers had allowed him to talk to
Mitchell, he could have convinced her to put the screwdriver away. 

Moody denied ever telling L.A.P.D. detectives that he thought the shot
was fired by Clark. He also denied telling L.A.P.D. interviewers that
Mitchell was trying to stab the officers. 

January 29, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

Moody was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. The
summary that follows contains only those portions of his testimony
that are inconsistent with or supplemental to his earlier statements
to L.A.P.D. or the F.B.I. 

Moody testified that his wife definitely did not see anything that
occurred involving Mitchell. In Moody’s words, "She did not see a
thing." 

Moody testified that the first thing he observed was Larrigan pointing
a gun at Mitchell and Mitchell holding a "little old screwdriver".
Moody repeated the phrase "little old screwdriver" several times
during his testimony. He also volunteered at an early point in his
testimony, that the screwdriver was "nothing really to worry about". 

Moody testified that he said to Larrigan, "let me try to talk to her",
and Larrigan did not reply. Moody then started to move toward
Mitchell, and said to Larrigan, "I think I can get – try to help you.
I [can] help you." In response to this, Larrigan pointed his gun at
Moody and said, "Get back, get back." Moody said to Larrigan, "don't
put that gun on me" and "get the pistol out of my face". Moody
testified that Larrigan never said "that's okay, don't worry about
it", nor did Larrigan tell Moody that he should not be involved.
According to Moody, all that Larrigan said to him was "get away", as
he pointed his gun at Moody. 

The only words Moody spoke to Mitchell was, "I just wanted to help
you, lady". Moody also volunteered that Mitchell did not see the back
of the officers' jackets that had the word "police" printed on them. 

Moody testified that the only time Mitchell made any motions with the
screwdriver was when Larrigan approached her and pointed his gun at
her. Also, the only kind of motion she made with the screwdriver was
to move it up and down by bending her elbow, as she held the
screwdriver by the handle with the end pointed upward. Mitchell was
not trying to hit, cut, or stab Larrigan with the screwdriver. Moody
testified that all Mitchell was trying to do, was to keep Larrigan
away from her. 

Moody further testified that he heard Larrigan inform Mitchell that he
was a police officer. The only words Moody heard Mitchell say to
Larrigan was "get back away from me, get away from me" and "you're not
the police". Moody said he never heard Clark say anything at any time.


Moody testified that before he tried to intervene, he thought he might
be able to "save this lady from the man who had a pistol on her." 

Moody explained that as Mitchell, Larrigan and Clark were proceeding
south on La Brea Avenue, Mitchell was not pushing the shopping cart in
a normal way, i.e. from the handle. Rather, she was pulling the cart
from the center portion of the basket. During this time, the only
voice Moody remembered hearing was Mitchell, saying "get away from me,
get away from me". Moody did not hear Larrigan say anything. 

In describing what Larrigan was doing as he followed Mitchell
southbound on La Brea Avenue, Moody testified, "[H]e was . . .
following that lady, trying to keep up with her. At least – he wasn't
trying to keep up with her. He was trying to get – trying to get rid
of her, do what he wanted to do." Moody said that Larrigan had his gun
pointed at Mitchell the entire time he proceeded south on La Brea
Avenue. Further, Moody testified that he was certain that Larrigan
made no attempt to disarm Mitchell: "He didn't try that at all. He
didn't try to disarm her from nothing. I hate to say it like that, but
that's what it was about. He did not try to disarm her." Moody further
stated, "I couldn't understand why he couldn't do something to take
that little screwdriver from that lady." 

Moody also testified that when Mitchell got to the newspaper stand,
Larrigan started to.17 run a little faster, and shot Mitchell before
he got close enough to attempt to get the screwdriver from her. Moody
said that even he, himself, could have knocked the screwdriver out of
Mitchell's hand without putting himself at risk and that was what
Larrigan should have done instead of shooting her. 

Moody testified that he was absolutely certain Larrigan shot Mitchell.
Moody said he saw the gun in Larrigan's hand at the time Larrigan
discharged his weapon. According to Moody, all that he might have said
in the past regarding Clark, was that Clark could have shot Mitchell,
but not that she did. During his Grand Jury testimony, Moody made all
of the following statements: (1) At the time of the shooting, he did
not notice if Clark had her gun out; (2) At the time of the shooting,
he was looking at Clark and Clark was not pointing her gun at anyone;
and (3) At the time of the shooting, Moody was turned around towards
his car and when he heard the shot, he turned back around. 

Moody also testified that he never thought that one of the officers,
rather than Mitchell, had been shot, and he never noticed Larrigan
falling down. 

Officer Hope Young 

L.A.P.D. Officer Hope Young, while off-duty, was driving her personal
vehicle southbound on La Brea Avenue at the time of this incident and
observed many of the events. She gave four formal statements regarding
her observations: (1) She was interviewed on audio tape by L.A.P.D.
investigators beginning at 10:45 p.m. on May 21, 1999, the night of
the incident; (2) She was interviewed by Inspector General Eglash of
the Los Angeles Police Commission on December 13, 1999 19 ; (3) She
was interviewed by F.B.I. Special Agent Stapleton on September 15,
2000; and (4) She testified before the Grand Jury on January 31, 2001.


May 21, 1999, interview: 

Young explained to L.A.P.D. investigators that she was driving
eastbound on Fourth Street approaching La Brea Avenue sometime between
4:00 and 4:15 p.m. when she saw two L.A.P.D. bicycle officers on the
southwest corner of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue. The officers, a
male and a female, got off their bicycles and approached an
African-American female who had a shopping cart. (Hereinafter these
individuals will be referred to as "Larrigan", "Clark" and
"Mitchell"). Mitchell had a screwdriver in her hand and the officers
had their guns drawn. Mitchell started waving the screwdriver around
in her right hand and yelling, but Young could not tell what she was
saying. Young heard the officers say several times "drop the
screwdriver, drop the screwdriver", but Mitchell did not comply. 

At that point, a male African-American stepped from a red vehicle in
front of Young and started involving himself in the confrontation. He
said something, but Young could not hear what he said. The man did not
appear hostile, but in Young's opinion, was interfering rather than
helping the situation. Mitchell continued to hold the screwdriver in
her right hand and was waving it in circles, left to right, in a "real
crazy" fashion. Mitchell then turned around and fled southbound on La
Brea Avenue with the shopping cart, holding the screwdriver in her
right hand. The officers followed directly behind her. Young observed
that during the pursuit, Clark re-holstered her weapon, but Young was
unsure what Larrigan did with his weapon. Young made a right turn and
followed directly behind in her vehicle, a black Toyota Four Runner.
Her view of the incident was unobstructed. 

Near the newspaper stand, Mitchell turned around, still holding the
screwdriver in her right hand. With it extended in front of her,
Mitchell took a step forward towards Larrigan and lunged at him with
the screwdriver. Larrigan had his gun drawn and Young heard a gunshot.
Mitchell then fell to the ground. Young did not know which officer
discharged the weapon. After Mitchell fell, the screwdriver remained
in her hand, but she no longer had a grip on it. 

Young got out of her vehicle, identified herself as an L.A.P.D.
officer and offered assistance. Young explained that during the
incident, she did not want to distract the officers' attention from
Mitchell since Mitchell had a weapon, and, therefore, did not
intervene. 

Young did not notice whether Larrigan had fallen or stumbled at any
point. September 15, 2000, interview: 

Young was interviewed by F.B.I. Special Agent Stapleton. This
interview was recorded by Young's attorney, Russell Cole, with the
permission of Agent Stapleton. That recordation has not been reviewed
by this office and this summary relies on the accuracy of the report
prepared by Agent Stapleton. The following includes only those
portions of Young's F.B.I. interview that are inconsistent with or
supplemental to her L.A.P.D. interview. 

Young explained during this interview that when she first saw the
officers at the corner of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue, they had
their weapons drawn in a "low-ready" position. Young could hear the
officers tell Mitchell to drop the screwdriver because Young's
passenger window was open. Young observed Mitchell hold the shopping
cart with her left hand and hold the screwdriver in her right hand in
front of her. During this interview, Young clarified that Mitchell's
right arm was not fully extended, but her elbow was a few inches from
her body and the screwdriver was pointed at the officers. Young added
that when the African-American man attempted to intervene, Larrigan
grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away..19 

Young also explained that after Mitchell started pushing 20 her cart
southbound, the officers followed, with Larrigan closer to the curb
and Clark closer to a small retaining wall on the west side of the
sidewalk. Young described Mitchell's gait as more of a "run" than a
"walk". Young, however, could not remember if the shopping cart was
between Mitchell and the officers, or further south of Mitchell.
During this interview, Young recalled that Larrigan continued to hold
his weapon in a "low-ready" position as he proceeded south on La Brea
Avenue, although she believed that Clark might have re-holstered her
gun. 

Young stated that when Mitchell stopped near the newspaper stand,
turned toward the officers and lunged at Larrigan, she was
approximately five feet from Larrigan and somewhat further from Clark.
Young explained that the lunge was a thrusting motion, with Mitchell
moving the screwdriver away from her body by extending her arm. 

Mitchell did not at any time, raise the screwdriver over her head as
if to stab Larrigan, although, in Young's opinion, Larrigan's life was
being threatened. Young, specified, however, that she never felt
Clark's life was threatened. During this interview, Young also stated
that Clark had re-drawn her weapon by the time of the shooting. 

Young stated that she did not remember seeing Larrigan talk on the
radio microphone attached to his shirt. She also stated that since the
incident, she had not talked to either Larrigan or Clark. 

January 31, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

Young was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. Again,
the following summary represents only that portion of her testimony
that is inconsistent with or supplementary to her earlier statements. 

Young testified that at the time of the incident, she had been an
L.A.P.D. officer for three years and was working at L.A.P.D.'s 77 th
Division Station. When the shooting occurred, she was on her way to
work, and her shift was scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. 

Young specified that the red vehicle belonging to the man who
attempted to intervene, was directly in front of Young's vehicle on
eastbound Fourth Street. The red vehicle was not stopped for a red
light because it was too far west of the intersection and there was no
traffic in front of it. 

Young testified that she saw the officers get off their bicycles and
immediately draw their weapons. At that time, Mitchell was waving the
screwdriver right to left, back and forth, and it was extended
slightly in front of her from the elbow. Young clarified that when the
intervening male approached this confrontation, he positioned himself
in between the two officers, one step behind them. She also said that
she could not tell if his involvement was welcomed by the officers. At
this time, Young testified that she did not see if either of the
officers physically pushed him back. 

Young also could not remember whether the officers had their guns
pointed to the ground or at Mitchell during this initial
confrontation. She estimated that the officers were approximately ten
feet from Mitchell when they got off their bicycles and they moved
slightly west, getting to within seven to eight feet of her. 

Young testified that as the officers and Mitchell proceeded south on
La Brea Avenue, she did not know where the man who attempted to
intervene was. He was no longer in her field of view. Young explained
that she intentionally remained behind the three of them because if
something "went down", she did not want to get shot. Young also
testified that there were no vehicles in front of her. 

Young testified that when Mitchell stopped and turned to face
Larrigan, the cart was not in between her and Larrigan. At that point,
the cart was one to two feet to Mitchell's left. When asked, Young
could not remember if Mitchell turned to look at the officers at any
time before she got to the newspaper stand. 

Young was unable to remember whether Larrigan had his gun out as he
ran, but she recalled that Clark had re-holstered her weapon while
still at the corner La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street. Also, Young did
not know whether Clark or Larrigan said anything as they pursued
Mitchell. When asked, Young testified that she assumed "drag-stepping"
was the process of moving without lifting one's leg. Young said that
she saw neither officer do that. Further, she testified that
"drag-stepping" was not something she had done, seen any fellow
officer do, or been trained to do. 

Young estimated that after Mitchell turned, took her hand off the
cart, and took one step toward Larrigan, she was then approximately
three to four feet away from him. As Mitchell took this step toward
Larrigan, Mitchell held the screwdriver out in front of her and
pointed it straight ahead with her arm fully extended at a height
above her shoulder. Young, however, could not recall whether Mitchell
held the screwdriver in an underhand grip, or overhand, as in a
stabbing position. Young also said she could not remember if the
screwdriver was moving. Young added that when Mitchell took the step
forward, she leaned into it. 

Young testified that at the time of the shooting, she was
approximately five feet behind Larrigan, to his left. Based on where
Mitchell was in relation to Larrigan, Young would have expected that
Mitchell was shot somewhere on her upper body, perhaps in the chest
area. 

During her testimony, Young recalled that right before the shooting,
after Mitchell stopped and turned toward Larrigan, both officers again
yelled several times, "Drop the weapon! Drop the screwdriver!" Young
testified that she never heard, "Stop or I'll.21 shoot!" Young also
recalled that immediately before the gun was fired, Mitchell was
screaming loudly, but Young did not hear any specifics or anything
that made sense. 

Young did not recall Mitchell saying anything like, "You are not the
police." In Young's opinion, Mitchell did not seem mentally stable. 

Young also testified that right before the shot was fired, she noticed
a motorcycle officer across the street involved in what she assumed
was a traffic stop. Shortly after the shooting, the motorcycle officer
came running over. 

Young stated that immediately after the shooting, she got out of her
vehicle and identified herself as a police officer to Clark. Young
testified that she did not speak to Larrigan. Both Larrigan and Clark
appeared nervous. She recalled that Clark was shaking as she wrote
down Young's identifying information. 

Young testified that in her opinion, Mitchell posed a threat before
the shooting, at least to Larrigan, if not also to Clark and anyone
else on the street. Further, it never seemed to Young that Mitchell
was trying to comply with Larrigan and Clark's orders to drop the
screwdriver. 

Since the incident, Young had not talked to Larrigan, Clark or
motorcycle officer Goines. Derrick Keaton 

Derrick Keaton was working as a car salesman at the car dealership
located at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue at
the time of this incident. Derrick Keaton provided information
regarding his observations on three occasions: (1) On May 26, 1999,
five days after the incident, he was interviewed on audio tape by
L.A.P.D. investigators; (2) On February 9, 2000, he was interviewed by
Special Agent R. E. Stapleton of the F.B.I., which was not recorded;
and (3) On January 29, 2001, he testified before the Grand Jury.21 

May 26, 1999, interview: 

Keaton told L.A.P.D. investigators that he was working as a car
salesman and was out on the ramp 22 at the southwest corner of La Brea
Avenue and Fourth Street, when he saw two bicycle officers approach a
homeless lady with a shopping cart. (Hereinafter, these individuals
will be referred to as "Larrigan", "Clark" and "Mitchell"). Keaton had
seen Mitchell on many occasions in the past and she always had a
shopping cart. Keaton did not think Mitchell was mentally unstable; to
him, she just looked mean and quiet, and did not want to be bothered.
When people spoke to her, she would barely speak. When asked, Keaton
said that he had never seen her carry anything that looked like a
weapon. Keaton also said that it was common in that area to see
transients questioned by the police and asked to leave the vicinity
where the businesses were located. 

Keaton told L.A.P.D. investigators that he happened to be looking
towards the street corner and, when he saw the police, he was just
naturally curious; there was no shouting or yelling that drew his
attention. When Keaton first looked in their direction, Mitchell was
pushing the cart west on the south side of Fourth Street, and the
officers were on their bicycles. The officers wore blue short pants
and blue short-sleeved shirts that had the word "police" written on
them. 

During his interview, Keaton said that immediately after getting off
their bicycles and before Mitchell took out her screwdriver, the
officers took out their guns and had them pointed down and ready.
Mitchell then took out a screwdriver and raised it up in front of her.
Keaton estimated that the officers were three to four feet away from
Mitchell. They were asking her something, but Keaton coREPORT ON THE
DEATH OF 

Margaret Laverne M 

were telling Mitchell to "stop" or words to that effect, but she did
not cooperate. Mitchell kept repeating, "no, no, no". Throughout this
exchange, Mitchell had the screwdriver raised up in front of her. 

Keaton reported that as this occurred, a man who had been travelling
southbound on La Brea Avenue in a red car, pulled over at the
northwest corner of La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street and ran south
across Fourth Street to where Mitchell and the officers were. This man
inserted himself into the exchange between the officers and Mitchell,
and said to Mitchell, "Please, please cooperate with the officers.
Please cooperate so you don't get hurt." Keaton thought that this man
knew Mitchell. The man placed himself between the officers and
Mitchell, which Keaton would not have done out of concern for his
safety. Keaton did not hear the officers say anything to him like "get
back". They did not push him away. In fact, Keaton said the officers
seemed pleased that he got involved, as if he might be able to appeal
to her. All that Mitchell said in response to this man was "no". She
would not cooperate. When this was occurring, Mitchell's back was to
Keaton and she was facing the two officers and the man. 

Keaton told investigators that Mitchell then suddenly grabbed her cart
and ran south on La Brea Avenue. She was pulling the cart with her
left hand from the rear where the bars were. The officers were
following her running parallel to one another. Keaton did not hear
whether the officers yelled "stop" as she was running, nor did he see
anything in her right hand as she was running. As Mitchell started
moving south, Keaton moved south on the display platform to see what
was going on, and he repositioned himself near the convertible.23 

Keaton said that when Mitchell got to the newspaper stand, he heard a
shot. Mitchell never stopped running or pulling the cart before the
gun was discharged. At the moment she was shot, her back was partially
to the officers, with her left side towards the cart and north, and
her right shoulder pointing south. According to Keaton, Mitchell was
positioned diagonally on the sidewalk, turned slightly to the left,
almost facing the street. Keaton had his eye on her when she was shot,
and it appeared that she was shot in the back. 

Keaton estimated that the officers were three to four feet behind
Mitchell and parallel to each other. Keaton reported that Clark was
closer to the street and Larrigan was on Clark's right. It was
Keaton's belief that Larrigan shot Mitchell. Keaton looked at the
officers immediately after the shooting and Larrigan’s complexion
turned color. He appeared very nervous and started to point to people
as witnesses, saying, "You, you, you, and you, come here." 

Keaton also told L.A.P.D. investigators that a black Toyota Land
Cruiser pulled up as this was occurring and a woman got out
immediately after the shot was fired. The officers said to her, "get
back, ma'am, this is an accident scene" and Larrigan went to push her
away. The woman, however, identified herself as an off-duty officer. 

During this confrontation, there was a motorcycle officer across the
street writing a ticket and immediately after the shooting, he pulled
up and started securing the scene. He parked his motorcycle to block
traffic and clear everybody out. 

Keaton told L.A.P.D. investigators that, in his opinion, the officers
did not want to harm Mitchell. To Keaton, it looked as if the gun went
off accidentally when Larrigan was running. Keaton theorized that the
"safety" might have been off. Keaton stated, however, that it was not
true that Larrigan fell. Keaton also said that Mitchell did not lunge
at the officers before she was shot. Keaton did say, however, that he
thought there were others at the scene who would have had a better
view of the incident than he had, such as the off-duty officer. 

February 9, 2000, interview: 

Keaton was interviewed by Special Agent R. E. Stapleton of the F.B.I.
Present during the interview was Keaton's attorney, Leo Terrell, and
Terrell's assistant. This interview was not tape-recorded and this
summary relies upon the accuracy of the report prepared by Agent
Stapleton. The following summarizes only those portions of Keaton's
interview that are inconsistent with or supplemental to his statement
to L.A.P.D. investigators. Keaton stated during his F.B.I. interview
that the screwdriver he saw in Mitchell’s right hand shortly after he
first saw her was medium sized. She was holding it close to her body
and up near her face. She was waving it in a circular motion, but was
not threatening the officers with it. 

Keaton told Special Agent Stapleton that when the male citizen
intervened and told Mitchell to cooperate, Mitchell looked even more
confused. Mitchell continued to wave the screwdriver around while this
man was talking to her. 

During this interview, Keaton stated that as the officers followed
Mitchell southbound on La Brea Avenue, it was Larrigan who was closer
to the curb and Clark toward the west side of the sidewalk. Also,
Keaton added during this interview that as the officers proceeded
south, Larrigan, at times, took a few steps out onto the street and
then stepped back up on the sidewalk. 

Keaton explained that at a certain point, Mitchell got as far as 15
feet in front of the officers, but the officers began to close the
gap. As she ran, Mitchell pulled the cart with her left hand and her
right hand was "pumping" at her side to give her momentum. At all
times, Mitchell kept the cart between her and the officers. Mitchell's
left side was more toward the officers and her face was turned toward
the street. 

Keaton told the F.B.I. investigator that after Mitchell was shot, he
was in a state of disbelief that either officer would shoot her since
she posed no threat. Keaton said that he did not see which officer
shot Mitchell, although he noticed that both had their weapons out. He
estimated that at the time of the shooting, Mitchell was seven feet
away from the officers. 

Keaton explained during this interview that because of Larrigan's path
during the chase, he initially thought that Larrigan's gun might have
accidentally discharged as he was stepping from the street to the
sidewalk. 

Keaton clarified to the F.B.I. agent that Mitchell was not waving the
screwdriver at the officers before she was shot. In fact, the only
time he saw it in her hand was during the initial encounter on the
street corner when she was waving it at the officers. Mitchell never
lunged at the officers or attempted to stab them. 

January 29, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

Keaton was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. The
following summarizes only those portions of his testimony that are
either inconsistent with or supplemental to his initial statement to
L.A.P.D. or his later interview with the F.B.I. Keaton testified that
he thought the incident occurred on a Tuesday. He also indicated that
he had been working at the dealership for three months at time of the
shooting. During his testimony, Keaton said that what drew his
attention to the street corner was Mitchell screaming something like,
"back away from me; get away from me; leave me alone". He could not
recall if he also heard the officers say anything. 

When asked if he had seen Mitchell before, Keaton stated that he had,
and volunteered that she appeared to be "kind of nice." When asked to
describe her mental state when he had interacted with her, Keaton
testified that "she wasn't friendly, but she wasn't mean". He
described her as cautious of people, but he also said, "You could tell
she had a mean streak to her pretty much, but it didn't seem like she
trusted people too much." Keaton also said she was quiet and never
engaged in any bizarre conduct. 

Keaton testified that when he first saw her, Mitchell was pushing her
shopping cart in a normal fashion, which, as usual, contained items. 

According to Keaton, Mitchell took the screwdriver out of the shopping
cart when the officers approached her. Mitchell was "poking and
swinging" the screwdriver at the officers. This movement made Keaton
"scared for her". Keaton demonstrated that Mitchell held the
screwdriver overhead and made stabbing motions with it. He perceived
her actions with the screwdriver to be a threat. 

Keaton testified that he recalled the officers saying to Mitchell,
"Calm down, Ma'am, calm down." The officers had their guns drawn, but
not pointed at Mitchell. The guns were held straight down pointing at
the ground. 

Keaton testified that Moody, to whom he referred by name, interfered.
Contrary to his previous statement, Keaton testified that the officers
were unhappy that Moody tried to intervene. In Keaton's words, they
were "clearly disturbed", and it was not his impression that they
thought Moody might help resolve the situation. They raised their
voices at Moody and said something very briefly to him like, "get out
of the way", or "back away". Keaton could not remember whether the
officers pointed their guns at Moody. Moody took two to three steps
back, but remained on the sidewalk. While Moody was there, Mitchell
continued to make overhead stabbing motions. Keaton explained that in
his opinion, Moody's physical positioning was unsafe because he was
between two police officers who had their guns drawn. 

Keaton testified that after Mitchell took off running south on La Brea
Avenue, she no longer had the screwdriver in her right hand. Keaton
said clearly that he looked and her hand was empty. He believed the
screwdriver fell to the ground and landed somewhere between the
planter and the newspaper stand. He claimed that he saw the
screwdriver after the shooting lying on the ground in a similar place
between the planter and the newspaper stand. His best estimate was
that the screwdriver was ten to fifteen feet away from where Mitchell
had fallen. 

Keaton testified that as the officers chased Mitchell southbound,
Larrigan was closer to the street and parallel to Clark, separated by
three to five feet. 

At the time of the shooting, Keaton estimated that Mitchell was five
feet away from Larrigan. Mitchell never stopped, hesitated or turned
toward the officers. She was running very fast, up until the time she
was shot. Also, according to Keaton, Mitchell never said anything, and
Keaton testified that he would have heard her, had she spoken. Keaton
testified that Larrigan was running close to the curb and, at one
point, he appeared to slip off the curb, but he regained his balance.
Keaton emphasized that he vividly remembered Larrigan's foot slipping
off the curb as he ran. Shortly after he fell and regained his
balance, the shot was fired. It did not look like the gun accidentally
discharged because Larrigan slipped off the curb. In fact, Larrigan
took aim at Mitchell before he shot her. It looked as if the gun was
fired intentionally. Clark was "tagging along" as back-up. Keaton
testified that he did not see any abnormal or aggressive behavior on
Clark's part. 

Keaton said that at the time of the shooting he was looking at
Mitchell. He remembered being surprised at how fast she could move
with the cart, considering her small size. Her cart was north of her
at the time she was shot, closer to the officers. 

Keaton testified that when she was shot she was facing south on La
Brea Avenue. Keaton would have expected her to get shot in the back.
Larrigan was the officer that shot Mitchell. 

Keaton testified that the motorcycle officer came across the street
approximately one or two minutes after the shooting. The off-duty
female officer got out of her vehicle approximately five minutes after
the shooting. 

Keaton testified that during this encounter, Mitchell seemed very
angry and disturbed. Merely the sight of the officers made her very
angry. She also seemed frightened. The officers did not seem angry,
rude or hostile. They appeared calm. 

Keaton explained that nothing obscured his vision during this
incident. Pamela Littky 

Pamela Littky, who was driving southbound on La Brea Avenue at the
time of the shooting, provided three statements: (1) On May 21, 1999,
beginning at 7:15 p.m. she was interviewed on audio tape by L.A.P.D.
detectives; (2) She was interviewed by Los Angeles Police Commission
Inspector General Eglash on December 9, 1999 24 ; and (3) On October
18, 2000, she was interviewed on video-tape by District Attorney
personnel. May 21, 1999, interview: 

Littky told L.A.P.D. investigators that she was alone in her car
traveling south on La Brea Avenue in the far right lane immediately
next to the curb. She was stopped at the red light at La Brea Avenue
and Fourth Street and was the first car in her lane. The traffic was
extremely heavy and moved slowly, even after the light turned green.
Littky noticed two police bicycles on the ground and two male, police
officers and a homeless woman at the southwest corner of La Brea
Avenue and Fourth Street. 

(Hereinafter the homeless woman will be referred to as "Mitchell"). In
Littky's words, these individuals "were going back and forth". The
officers, who were facing the homeless woman approximately two and
one-half to three feet away, would say something to Mitchell and
Mitchell would then walk away a short distance and stop. Then the
officers would again say something to Mitchell, who, again, would walk
away and stop. This happened several times. To Littky, it appeared
that Mitchell did not want to talk to the officers. At this juncture,
Littky did not notice if the officers had any weapons drawn. As noted,
Littky also thought both officers were male. 

As this repeated interaction occurred, the position of Mitchell's
shopping cart would change: at one point it was at Mitchell's side,
and at another it was between Mitchell and the officers. Suddenly,
Mitchell took off southbound on La Brea Avenue, running quickly, and
pushing, rather than pulling, her cart. The officers stayed behind
her, apparently wanting to pursue the conversation, although Mitchell
"was done with them". When Mitchell started to run, the light turned
green and Littky crossed the intersection. Because the traffic was
heavy, Littky drove slowly just behind Mitchell, which put Littky next
to what was occurring between the officers and Mitchell. Mitchell
stopped running and had some additional verbal exchange with the
officers. The officer closest to the curb was holding a gun in his
right hand, although Littky did not see when this officer drew the
gun. Littky did not notice if the other officer had a gun drawn.
Mitchell turned around and faced the officers holding some object in
her right hand. She was holding this object and moving her hand as if
she was in a sword fight. The movement she made with it was small.
Littky did not believe Mitchell lunged at the police. 

At this point, the officers and Mitchell were somewhat further apart,
perhaps four feet. The officer closest to the curb, had his gun
pointed at Mitchell, and shot her. This officer was approximately four
feet away from Mitchell at the time of the shooting. Littky pulled
over and said to herself, "that couldn't have been a real gun". She
was in a state of disbelief. Immediately before the gun was fired,
Littky did not see any mouths moving and heard no yelling, although
her car stereo was set to a high volume. Littky went over and saw a
screwdriver in Mitchell's hand. One of the officers pulled it out of
her hand, looked at it, laughed and threw it on the ground. 

October 18, 2000, interview: 

Littky was interviewed by members of the District Attorney's Office.
This interview, which took place at the offices of the District
Attorney and at the scene of the shooting, was video-taped. The
following summary includes only those portions of Littky's District
Attorney interview that are inconsistent with or supplemental to her
1999.28 interview by L.A.P.D. 

Littky stated that after the initial exchange between the officers and
Mitchell at the street corner, Mitchell took off running, stopped and
turned towards the officers for an instant, and then took off running
again. When Mitchell turned toward the officers the first time, Littky
did not notice anything in her hand, and she did not believe the
officers had their guns drawn at that time. During this interview,
Littky at first said that they were approximately ten feet apart when
Mitchell turned toward them the first time. Later in the interview,
Littky said they were approximately four feet apart when Mitchell
turned around the first time. 

Littky stated that when Mitchell stopped the second time, Littky
noticed a female approach the officers and Mitchell from behind, and
say something to Mitchell. Littky recalled that the officers may have
told the woman to get away. This occurred before the shooting, and
Littky believed that the woman was blond. This same female was driving
the sport utility vehicle Littky noticed at the scene after the
shooting. This woman did not seem to have an effect on the situation. 

Littky perceived Mitchell to be less than sane because she was running
away from the police with a shopping cart, refusing to obey their
commands. It appeared Mitchell needed to calm down. 

Immediately before the shooting, Mitchell held the screwdriver in a
way that communicated, "get away from me", rather than "I'm gonna kill
you". She had it in front of her, moving it back and forth, within
approximately 12 inches, but her arm was not fully extended. At some
point she moved it out toward one of the officers. Littky did not
believe Mitchell said anything as she did this. The officers and the
woman who approached were saying something to Mitchell, but Littky did
not know what they said. The officers were approximately ten feet away
from Mitchell at this point. Both officers had their guns drawn.
Mitchell's entire body was facing the officers, i.e., north, and the
cart was further south of Mitchell. 

Between the time that Mitchell stopped running and the time that she
was shot, Littky estimated 15 to 30 seconds elapsed. Also, Littky
stated that she never saw the officer step off the curb before the
shooting. 

Littky explained that after the shooting, an officer picked up the
screwdriver and laughed, not expressing amusement, but, rather,
incredulity that the object was merely a screwdriver. Littky did not
know which officer had this reaction, but she did not think it was the
officer who shot Mitchell. 

Gary Miller 

Gary Miller, another passing motorist, was interviewed regarding his
observations on.29 four occasions: (1) On May 21, 1999, beginning at
5:55 p.m. he was interviewed on audio-tape by L.A.P.D. investigators;
(2) He was interviewed by Los Angeles Police Commission Inspector
General Eglash on December 21, 1999 25 ; (3) On January 27, 2000, he
was interviewed by F.B.I. Special Agent R. E. Stapleton; and (4) On
August 24, 2000, he was interviewed on video-tape by members of the
District Attorney's Office. May 21, 1999, interview: 

Miller explained to L.A.P.D. investigators that he was heading north
on La Brea Avenue in the far right lane and was stopped at a red light
at Fourth Street. He was the first car at the light and his windows
were rolled up. 

He could not hear everything that was happening, but he saw two male
police officers in cut-off pants and vests that said "police" having a
verbal exchange with a woman with a shopping cart at the corner of
Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue. (Hereinafter the woman with the
shopping cart will be referred to as "Mitchell"). Miller saw this by
looking out his car to the left, i.e., west, across La Brea Avenue.
Before stopping at the light, he saw nothing that drew his attention.
He just happened to be looking around. Miller could not remember if
there was another car directly to his left, although he could see the
officers full length. Also, later, he was able to see Mitchell lying
on the ground, so Miller deduced that there were no other cars in the
lanes of traffic to his left. 

He then heard one of the officers telling Mitchell to "stop" or
something to that effect. He saw that Mitchell was pushing the
shopping cart south on the west sidewalk of La Brea Avenue and the
officers were 15 to 20 feet behind her walking side-by-side, five to
six feet apart. The officers were telling her something and she was
yelling back, not looking at them. It appeared that she was trying to
get away from them. Miller assumed the officers wanted her to stop,
but she refused. Mitchell was not running; just walking. At this
point, the officers were ten to fifteen feet behind her. 

Neither of the officers had their guns drawn. Mitchell walked
approximately 12 to 15 feet without turning around towards the
officers. She then turned and said something to the officers and, at
that point, Miller looked at the traffic signal for one to two seconds
to see if it had turned green because there was traffic behind him. 

The traffic signal was still red and when Miller turned back, Mitchell
had a screwdriver in her right hand, which she had not had before he
turned away. Miller did not see where the screwdriver came from.
Mitchell was turned half way around, with her body facing the street
and her head facing the officers as she talked to them. Miller did not
see Mitchell make any motion with the screwdriver and it did not
appear to him that Mitchell was trying to attack the officers, who, at
that time, were six to eight feet away from her. 

Mitchell held the screwdriver down by the handle of the cart. 

All of a sudden, a split-second later, the officer closest to the
street shot Mitchell once. This officer was a Spanish-looking male
with brown hair, and held the gun in his right hand. Although Miller
did not actually see this officer fire his weapon, Miller assumed it
was this officer because he was the only one Miller saw holding a gun.
Miller saw this "out of the corner of his eye". He was looking out his
window to the left over his shoulder, and the incident was behind him,
so he could only see the officers from the rear. 

Mitchell fell to the ground and the shooting officer stepped off the
curb and walked a little closer, within three to four feet, and looked
at Mitchell. 

After the shooting, a third male officer came over. Also, a black,
sport utility vehicle stopped at the curb and a woman quickly got out.
Miller did not know whether anyone near the car dealership saw the
incident. 

Miller drove away because he was very upset at what he had just seen.
He arrived at his destination, a camera shop, and was there ten to
fifteen minutes. After he left, he drove past the scene and saw that
everything was blocked-off. He stopped and told the officers at the
scene that he had witnessed the shooting because he felt he had to say
something. January 27, 2000, interview: 

Miller was interviewed by Special Agent Stapleton of the F.B.I. This
interview was not recorded in any way, and this summary relies on the
accuracy of the report prepared by Agent Stapleton. The following
summary of that interview includes only those statements made by
Miller that are either inconsistent with or supplemental to his
initial interview with L.A.P.D. investigators. 

Miller said in his F.B.I. interview that something caught his
attention immediately before he looked to his left and saw the
officers and Mitchell heading south on La Brea Avenue. He noticed that
there was conversation between the officers and Mitchell, however, he
could not hear what was being said. 

Miller told the F.B.I. investigator that when he looked back toward
the incident after checking the status of the traffic light, Mitchell
stopped, turned counter clockwise toward the officers and, at about
the same time, he heard a shot fired. Miller also indicated during
this interview that after the shot was fired, the officer closest to
the curb stepped off the curb. Miller, however, could not tell whether
this officer fell. 

Miller told the F.B.I. agent that the screwdriver that he saw in
Mitchell's hand appeared to be ten to twelve inches in length, but he
could not identify the color..31 August 24, 2000, interview: 

Miller was interviewed by District Attorney personnel in the offices
of the District Attorney. This interview was video-taped. The
following summary reflects only those portions of Miller's District
Attorney interview that supplement or conflict with his prior
interviews. 

Miller indicated that when he stopped at the red light on northbound
La Brea Avenue at Fourth Street, he was "panning around" when he
happened to notice the police officers trying to stop Mitchell at the
corner of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue. Miller also said that he
heard the officers saying something to Mitchell in a raised voice,
which captured his attention. He, however, did not hear what was said.


Miller said that when he first stopped there were no vehicles to his
left, but at some point during this incident one car pulled up next to
him directly on the left. Miller, however, had a view behind this car
to the west. When asked, Miller said he did not see any bicycles near
the officers. 

Contrary to his earlier interview, Miller said that the officer
furthest from him was a female. 

In order to see what was happening, Miller explained that he had to
turn his head half-way around to the left. 

Miller said that Mitchell stopped and turned toward the officers
twice. When Mitchell had gone south on La Brea Avenue six to eight
feet, she turned toward the officers, said some unknown words to them,
then turned back around and continued south on La Brea Avenue, pushing
her cart at a somewhat quicker pace. The first time she turned toward
the officers, both of her hands were on the cart and there was nothing
in them. The officers continued to follow her and sped up their pace
as well. Miller had to lean forward and turn further to his left, over
his left shoulder, to watch this. The screwdriver Miller saw in
Mitchell's hand the second time he saw her stop, was approximately 12
inches long. 

Miller estimated 15 to 20 seconds elapsed between the time he first
noticed these three individuals and the time he turned to check on the
light. 

Not until after Miller checked on the traffic light, did either
officer have any weapons in their hands as far as Miller could see. 

Miller stated that he was certain that Mitchell did not have a
screwdriver in her hand before he turned to check on the traffic
light. When he turned back to look at Mitchell, she had stopped, the
screwdriver was in her right hand and her left hand was on the
cart..32 She had turned her body partially around so that she was
facing the street. The screwdriver was pointed toward the street. She
did not move the screwdriver at all. The male officer had moved east,
toward the curb. Mitchell was telling the officers something in a
louder, more emphatic voice. 

Miller stated that approximately five seconds after he turned his
attention back to Mitchell, he heard the shot. Miller was surprised
because he did not see the male officer's hand extended out in front
of him holding a gun before the shot. It looked as if he "shot from
the hip". 

Miller said the officer did not stumble off the curb before the shot.
Rather, after the shot, in order to approach the fallen Mitchell, he
deliberately stepped into the street. Miller also stated that the
entire time he viewed this event, there was no one else on the
sidewalk and no one else with whom the officers interacted. During
this incident, no cars were proceeding south on La Brea Avenue from
Fourth Street. The southbound traffic lanes of La Brea Avenue were
clear. 

After the shooting, Miller continued north on La Brea Avenue when the
traffic light turned green. Even before that, however, a black and
white police car driven by a male, African-American officer arrived at
the scene of the shooting from the south, pulling up on the west side
of La Brea Avenue, heading against traffic. He also saw a black sport
utility vehicle that had been travelling south pull up to the scene. 

Officer John Goines 

L.A.P.D. motor officer John Goines, who was on the northbound side of
La Brea Avenue at the time of this incident, provided information
regarding his observations on four separate occasions: (1) On May 21,
1999, beginning at 9:50 p.m., he was interviewed on audio tape by
L.A.P.D. investigators; (2) On July 12, 2000, his video-taped
deposition was taken by attorney Terrell; (3) On September 22, 2000,
he was interviewed by F.B.I. Special Agent R. E. Stapleton; and (4) On
January 31, 2001, he testified before the Grand Jury. 

May 21, 1999, interview: Goines was an L.A.P.D. motor officer assigned
to the West Traffic Division. He had completed a citation at Sixth
Street and La Brea Avenue and was headed north on La Brea when he saw
a green sport utility vehicle make an illegal left turn from eastbound
Sixth Street to northbound La Brea Avenue. Goines stopped this vehicle
to issue a traffic citation approximately 250 feet south of Fourth
Street in the number three, i.e., curbside, northbound lane of La Brea
Avenue. 

Goines contacted the driver, told him why he had been stopped,
obtained his license, and.33 as Goines was walking back to his
motorcycle, he saw two officers at the northwest 26 corner of Fourth
Street and La Brea Avenue walking southbound. One of the officers was
a white or Hispanic male, and the other was a white female, and they
were following an elderly African-American female. (These individuals
will be referred to herein as "Larrigan", "Clark" and "Mitchell"). 

Goines estimated that he viewed this from a distance of 180 to 230
feet. According to Goines, the officers were parallel to one another,
side by side, spread apart the width of the sidewalk with Clark
further west. Larrigan had his 9mm weapon drawn and pointed down in a
"low-ready" position and was attempting to broadcast into his remote
microphone which was pinned to his shirt. 

Goines remembered Mitchell had one hand on the cart, but could not
remember the position of her other hand. Mitchell was moving
continuously south at a slow pace. She was pushing, rather than
pulling the cart, which was in front of her. When he first saw them,
the distance between Mitchell and Larrigan was 25 to 30 feet. 

It was Goines’ impression that something was wrong: Larrigan's gun was
drawn, some kind of verbal exchange with Mitchell was occurring, and
it appeared Larrigan was requesting back-up assistance. From this,
Goines assumed the officers needed to contact her for some reason and
she was refusing to comply. Goines, thus, decided to go across the
street to assist the officers by preventing Mitchell from proceeding
further south on La Brea Avenue. Goines told the investigators he
might have tried to stop her by "corralling" her. Goines began to run
across to the west side of La Brea Avenue. As he ran, Goines retained
possession of the motorist's license. 

As Goines neared the number one southbound lane of La Brea Avenue, a
van travelling southbound passed in front of him, at which moment he
heard a gunshot. His vision of the incident was blocked by the passing
van. Goines had last observed Mitchell approximately five feet from a
newspaper stand. 

After the gunshot, Goines' next view was of Larrigan standing at the
newspaper stand and Mitchell lying on the ground just under the stand.
Goines could see a yellow-handled, metal-tipped screwdriver in her
right hand which Larrigan brushed aside. Prior to the shot, Goines did
not recall seeing a screwdriver. 

Immediately after this, Goines ran back across the street, returned
the license to the motorist to allow him to leave, and began to secure
the shooting scene. Goines drove his motorcycle to Fourth Street and
La Brea Avenue to block southbound traffic and requested paramedics.
He believed Larrigan also requested paramedics. He observed that
Larrigan appeared to be in a state of awe, as if he could not believe
what had happened. Later, Goines approached Larrigan who was seated in
a police car, to check on his welfare. At that time, Larrigan said to
Goines, "you make sure they get that screwdriver", and Goines said,
"all right, we've got it covered." 

Other units began to arrive at the scene and at a certain point Goines
was told to obtain identifying information from a female witness. When
he approached the witness, she told Goines she was a minister[sic] and
wanted a few moments to talk to Mitchell to administer her last rites.
Goines stepped aside, allowing the woman to talk to Mitchell. From
then on, Goines and the other officers proceeded to gather as many
witnesses as they could. 

July 12, 2000, deposition: The following summarizes only those
portions of Goines' deposition testimony that reflect information that
is inconsistent with or supplemental to his interview on the night of
the incident. Throughout the deposition, Terrell played the
tape-recording of Goines' L.A.P.D. interview for Goines to hear and
comment upon, question by question. During his deposition, Goines
stated that he returned the motorist's license before he decided to
cross La Brea Avenue to assist Larrigan and Clark, rather than after
he got midway in the street and the shooting occurred.27 He also
stated that his plan was that once he got to the west side of La Brea
Avenue, he was going to "get" Mitchell and "sneak up" from behind in
order to grab her or "snatch" the screwdriver from her. Goines also
stated that, in fact, he did see the screwdriver dangling in
Mitchell’s hand as she walked southbound on La Brea Avenue and before
she was shot. 

Goines also said during his deposition that after the shot, he saw
Larrigan "come up as if he had maybe stepped one foot off the curb and
was raising back on top of the curb." Goines explained that he had
thought at the time that the shooting might have been an accident
which occurred because Larrigan slipped off the curb into the street
and the gun discharged by mistake. 

Goines also estimated in his deposition testimony that the distance
between Larrigan and Mitchell once Larrigan stepped up to the curb
from the street was 15 feet. In Goines' opinion, this was a safe
distance even though Mitchell was armed because Mitchell's size, i.e.,
her weight and height, and her apparent mental condition, would have
disabled her from taking the kind of abrupt action necessary to render
the screwdriver a threat. Goines said that although it might be true
that some other person in Mitchell's position, possessing the same
screwdriver, could become an imminent, deadly threat within two
seconds, that would not hold true for Mitchell because of her physical
and mental limitations. 

Goines testified during his deposition, that he told his chief or
commander that he did not comprehend any reason for the use of force.
Goines stated that his belief that the shooting was not within
L.A.P.D. policy was due to his opinion that Mitchell did not pose an
immediate threat at any time. Goines also stated that if he had been
in Larrigan's position, he would not have had his gun drawn. He would
have waited for more officers to arrive to "get a better handle on the
situation" and he would have used "gas". Goines felt that Larrigan had
alternatives to the use of force. Goines, however, also stated that he
could not comment on the tactics used by Larrigan, because in order to
so comment, he would have to be Larrigan. Goines explained that what
Larrigan might consider a threat, might not be what he would consider
a threat, and Goines could only say what he would have done in that
situation. 

Also during his deposition, Goines described Mitchell's movements as
slow, staggered and lethargic. Further, he stated that he never saw
Mitchell lunge at Larrigan or make any motion or gestures toward
Larrigan or Clark. 

Goines estimated that the time lapse between the moment he first saw
Larrigan and Clark, and the shooting, was seven to ten minutes, but
probably closer to ten minutes. He first estimated five minutes, but
then commented that five minutes was too short. September 22, 2000,
interview: 

Goines was interviewed by F.B.I. Special Agent R. E. Stapleton. This
interview was not tape-recorded by Stapleton, but was recorded by
Goines' attorney, Bradley C. Gage, who was present for the interview.
The following summarizes only those portions of this interview that
are inconsistent with or supplemental to Goines' earlier statements
and testimony. 

Goines stated that he observed Larrigan and Clark dismount their
bicycles and bring their weapons to a "low-ready" position. At the
same time, he observed Mitchell pushing a shopping cart approximately
40 feet south of Larrigan and Clark. Mitchell was pushing the cart
with her left hand and her right hand was hanging to her side.
According to the report prepared of this interview, Goines stated that
he saw nothing in her right hand. Goines said that Mitchell's pace
southbound La Brea Avenue was approximately the same as the officers,
although it was possible the officers were moving a little quicker
than Mitchell. 

Goines explained that after seeing these individuals across the
street, he decided he would assist Larrigan and Clark by crossing the
street and coming up behind Mitchell, although he did not feel
Mitchell was a threat to the officers. After the van passed and he
heard a single shot, he saw Larrigan, approximately ten feet away from
Mitchell, coming up from a crouched position with one foot on the
sidewalk and the other in the street..36 Goines told Agent Stapleton
that he observed the screwdriver for the first time after Mitchell had
fallen to the ground, and that it was in her hand. 

Goines said he saw a male at the scene. This man had parked his car at
the corner of La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street and appeared to be
yelling at Mitchell and using hand gestures, as if he was pleading
with her. The officers appeared to ignore this man. Goines also stated
during this interview that Mitchell never threatened the officers with
a screwdriver and never lunged at them. Further, Goines never felt
that either officer's life was in danger at any time. 

Goines said that an off-duty L.A.P.D. officer was passing by and she
stopped to offer assistance. He further said that he told this officer
that he thought it was a "bad shooting" and the off-duty officer
agreed with this assessment. 

January 31, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

Goines was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. Again,
the following summarizes only those portions of his Grand Jury
testimony that are inconsistent with or supplemental to his prior
statements and testimony. 

During his testimony, Goines said that when he saw Larrigan with his
gun out he wondered why his gun was out when there was no threat.
Specifically, Goines testified, "I was in a state of utter wonder why
he had a gun out" considering the heavy traffic conditions, and that
Mitchell "didn't really pose that much of a threat". He also testified
that he observed Mitchell with a screwdriver in her hand as she was
proceeding south on La Brea Avenue, but it was dangling down to her
side. He testified that from across the street, he clearly identified
the object in her hand as a screwdriver. He also testified that
Mitchell never raised or waved the screwdriver. 

During his testimony, Goines said that as she proceeded south on La
Brea Avenue, Mitchell was turned sideways and was walking backward
away from the officers facing them. 

Goines initially testified before the Grand Jury that Larrigan was
right-handed, and held the gun in his right hand, supported by his
left hand, and used his left hand to key into the microphone pinned to
his shirt. Goines then changed his testimony and said that he could
not recall in which hand Larrigan held the gun. 

Goines testified that when he first saw these individuals, Larrigan
was 40 to 50 feet from Mitchell. Goines, himself, was approximately
200 feet from Larrigan, and approximately 70 to 80 feet from Mitchell.
Immediately before the shot was fired, Larrigan was approximately 15
to 20 feet from Mitchell, and right after the shot, approximately ten
feet from her..37 

During his testimony, Goines said that Mitchell was "moving very
slowly, taking little steps like she moved real lethargically".
However, at a later time in his testimony, Goines said Mitchell was
"still moving fast", but Larrigan was moving faster than Mitchell. 

In his Grand Jury testimony, Goines said that he specifically recalled
that Clark did not have her gun out when he first saw her. During the
pursuit, she had her hand on her gun, but it was not out. He described
Clark as "drag-stepping" behind Larrigan. Goines also testified that
his plan was to run across the street, approach Mitchell from behind,
and "corral" her or give her a "bear hug" and snatch the screwdriver
out of her hand. Goines testified that he returned the license to the
motorist before the van passed and said to him, "go ahead, I don’t
want to hold you up." He also said that the motorist drove off before
the shooting. 

Goines told the Grand Jury that Larrigan did not stumble or fall, but
came up from a crouched position as soon as the van passed. He said
Larrigan was crouched with his left foot on the street, and his right
foot on the curb. 

During his Grand Jury testimony, Goines said OC spray can be used from
a maximum distance of 25 to 30 feet, but that it is most effective
from a distance of ten to fifteen feet. Goines testified that he did
not have any interaction with a female witness, but that he overheard
a woman tell another officer that she was a minister[sic] and wanted
to give Mitchell last rites. 

Jon Menick 

Jon Menick was the motorist who had been stopped by Officer Goines at
Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue for a traffic violation. He was
subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury on January 30, 2001.
Prior to this testimony he was not formally interviewed.28 

Menick testified that he had been pulled over by a motorcycle officer
because he had made a left turn from eastbound Sixth Street to
northbound La Brea Avenue two minutes into the period of time during
which left turns were prohibited. (Although Menick did not refer to
him by name, the motorcycle officer will be referred to herein as
"Goines"). Menick stopped on the far right lane of northbound La Brea
Avenue, south of the planter/platform area surrounding the car
dealership on the southwest corner of La Brea Avenue and Fourth
Street. Goines pulled over behind, i.e., south of Menick. Goines
contacted Menick at his driver's side front window, slightly to the
rear of Menick. They had a very brief conversation during which Goines
explained why Menick had been stopped, and requested his license. As
Goines remained next to Menick's window, Menick heard what sounded
like someone screaming "in terror", in a high pitched, agitated voice,
which caused Menick to look northwest across La Brea Avenue. The
source of the scream was a small person, gender unknown, wearing a lot
of clothing and pulling a shopping cart. (This small person will be
referred to herein as "Mitchell"). Mitchell was running south on La
Brea Avenue, pulling a shopping cart behind her with her left hand,
and screaming as she turned back to face north. The cart was north of
Mitchell and her right hand was raised from the elbow, holding a white
circular object, that looked like a small purse, a large make-up bag,
or a rolled-up newspaper. Two bicycle police officers, a male and a
female, were pursuing Mitchell south on La Brea Avenue. (These
individuals will be referred to herein as "Larrigan" and "Clark").
Both officers were keeping their distance, travelling at a brisk pace
in a crouching posture with their hands down to their knees, appearing
to be "stalking" Mitchell, rather than trying to catch up to her.
Mitchell, however, appeared to be running as fast as she could.
Mitchell was approximately 40 yards from Menick when he first saw her.
The officers and Mitchell were separated by ten to fifteen feet. 

Goines was looking at Menick's license and was not alerted by the
screaming voice. Goines remained near Menick's window and they had no
further discussion. Menick did not get a good look at Goines, but he
clearly had a moustache and he appeared to be Caucasian, although
Menick was not certain of his race. 

Mitchell continued to run south approximately 40 yards, until she was
just slightly north of Menick's vehicle. During the time she ran,
Mitchell turned and looked back over her left shoulder and screamed
toward the officers three times. Thereafter, she appeared to get tired
and stopped. Menick could not see whether she maintained possession of
this white object, but she had the cart the entire time. 

The officers continued to follow Mitchell and when she began to slow
down, Larrigan went east and straddled the curb, placing one foot in
the street and one on the sidewalk. At the same time, Clark went
slightly west, and the officers appeared to have some non-verbal
communication or acknowledgment of each other. Mitchell and her cart
were 

"corralled" by the officers. Larrigan never tripped, fell or went down
on one knee. He maintained his balance. Although Menick assumed they
were holding guns, he never saw any guns. Larrigan was facing
southwest and Mitchell was facing north. Larrigan was six to eight
feet from Mitchell, and Clark was ten to twelve feet from Mitchell. At
that moment, a white van drove in front of him on La Brea Avenue and
obscured his vision, during which time a shot was fired. The van then
seemed to stop for.39 approximately four seconds. Goines had not moved
from his position next to Menick's car window. At the sound of the
shot Menick's passenger, Michael Leinert, screamed out something like,
"Did they shoot her?" Goines said nothing. 

Menick had no recollection of seeing any other people on the sidewalk
during this incident. At no time did Mitchell ever make any motion
with her hands towards the officers. None of the participants looked
angry at any point, and only Mitchell appeared frightened. 

When the van passed, Menick saw Larrigan in the same position, but
with his arms extended, holding a gun. Menick did not see the white
object. The cart had fallen over on its side, although it had been
upright before the van passed. Leinert got out of Menick's car and ran
north of the car and looked toward Larrigan. Goines ran across the
street, still holding Menick's license and began to talk to Larrigan.
Menick remained in his vehicle. Approximately three minutes later,
Goines returned to Menick, tossed the license into Menick's car and
shrugged at him as of to tell him he could leave, which he did. Goines
did not speak any words. 

Menick did not provide a statement to L.A.P.D., although they wanted
to interview him, because Menick's attorney, Terrell, decided against
it. After the incident, Menick did not know what to do. He was shocked
because the television coverage showed a picture of a screwdriver
which, according to Menick, was "not right". 

Michael Leinert 

Michael Leinert was a passenger in Menick's car when Menick was
stopped for a traffic violation. Leinert was subpoenaed to and
testified before the Grand Jury on January 20, 2001. 

Leinert testified that he was with his "associate", Jon Menick, when
Menick was pulled over for making an illegal left turn. Leinert said
he was the sole passenger in Menick's vehicle and was seated in the
right front. Leinert testified that he was "chagrined" that Menick was
pulled over for making a left turn only one minute into the prohibited
time period. 

Menick pulled his car over to the right curb, which was the east side
of northbound La Brea Avenue, and the motorcycle officer started
"hassling" Menick. (The motorcycle officer will be referred to herein
as "Goines"). Leinert also testified that Goines was looking in
Menick's vehicle for something that he and Menick could be "rousted
about". Goines was wearing a helmet, sunglasses and had a small
moustache. He appeared to be Hispanic or Italian, with an olive
complexion. 

Menick's vehicle was stopped directly across from the newspaper stand
that was on the west side of La Brea Avenue, south of Fourth Street.
When Goines approached Menick.40 from the driver's side, Leinert was,
at first, focused on their conversation. Menick was nervous, but
cordial during his conversation with Goines. Menick gave Goines his
license almost immediately. Leinert's attention, however, was soon
drawn across the street where he saw two officers "jogging" behind Ms.
Mitchell.29 At first, Leinert thought Mitchell was a small man because
of the dark cap and very dark clothes she wore. She was pulling a
grocery cart behind her with her left hand. Leinert made these
observations through the windshield, and then when Mitchell and the
officer proceeded south on La Brea Avenue, Leinert made observations
through the driver's side window. Mitchell was pumping with her right
arm for momentum trying to get away from the officers, who were
casually jogging behind her, approximately four to five yards away.
The male officer was closest to the street and the female officer was
by his side. (Hereinafter these officers will be referred to as
"Larrigan" and "Clark"). The officers had nothing in their hands while
they were jogging. Mitchell held an object in her right hand that was
approximately 16 or 17 inches long, and looked like a rolled-up piece
of paper or newspaper. She held it in her fist and it was pointed
upward as she ran, pumping with her right arm. The object was tubular
in shape and was definitely not a screwdriver. 

Menick seemed consumed with Goines and avoiding getting a citation,
and Goines did not seem to notice what was happening across the
street. Menick and Goines were still conversing while Leinert made
these observations. Leinert became focused on the events across the
street and saw everything clearly, with no visual obstructions.
Leinert testified that he "never missed a thing". In fact, Leinert was
particularly focused on the object in Mitchell's hand. 

Leinert testified that as this was occurring, pedestrians were walking
up and down the same sidewalk where Mitchell and the officers were.
These people were letting the incident transpire and then going on
about their business. 

Before the shooting, Mitchell did not stop, hesitate, or turn back to
look at the officers. Leinert testified that Mitchell was a "very
small frame woman" who was exerting a maximum effort pulling her cart
and trying to get away from the officers. She ran at the same pace and
held onto the item in her right hand during the entire pursuit.
Leinert could not tell whether any of these individuals said anything.


At the exact moment Leinert heard the single shot fired, a light,
tan-colored van drove up and blocked Leinert's view for three to four
seconds. Because Mitchell was moving and leaning forward with all her
energy facing southbound, and "her inertia was going forward", it was
Leinert's opinion that Mitchell could not have stopped and turned
around toward the officers in the brief period of time the van
obscured his vision. Leinert testified that considering Mitchell's and
Larrigan's last observed positions and assuming Larrigan shot
Mitchell, he would have expected that Mitchell was shot in the back.
If 

Mitchell stopped and got shot in the chest area, Leinert would be
surprised. Leinert, however, then testified that if Larrigan stepped
off the curb, then Mitchell might have gotten shot somewhere from her
left side to her front. Leinert, however, reiterated his testimony
that he did not see Larrigan step off the curb until after the shot
was fired. After the shot, Leinert saw a gun in Larrigan's hand. He
described Larrigan as holding the gun with his right hand out in front
of him, slightly bent at the elbow and cradling the bottom of the grip
in his left hand. Before the van obscured his view, neither officer
had a weapon drawn. 

According to Leinert, Goines remained next to Menick's driver's window
facing Menick until after the shot was fired. Leinert testified that
Goines had his back to the shooting incident and, "didn't see a
thing." Further, Goines never walked back to his motorcycle or wrote a
citation. Leinert also thought Menick was involved in matters relating
to the traffic stop during the shooting incident. Leinert remembered a
lot of conversation between Menick and Goines related to the driver's
license and the alleged violation. Neither Goines nor Menick reacted
to the gunshot, although, they clearly heard it. Leinert asked out
loud, "Was that a shot?", and only then Goines turned around. Goines
then proceeded across the street, still holding Menick's license. When
Goines got half-way across the street, Leinert got out of Menick's
vehicle and walked around to the front. Leinert looked very carefully
and thoroughly across the street, in an effort to "burn [the scene]
into my memory". 

Leinert saw Larrigan step off the curb, point the gun down and drop
it. Then, in Leinert's opinion, Larrigan pretended to be hurt. Leinert
thought Larrigan was feigning an injury because Leinert saw nothing
that could have caused Larrigan any injury or pain, and Larrigan did
not trip or fall. Had Larrigan stumbled or fallen Leinert definitely
would have seen it. A female civilian walked up to Larrigan from the
north and seemed to attend to him. An African-American male civilian,
who had not been at the scene earlier, also approached on foot from
the north to see what was going on. A couple of other people also
walked by, but they did not stop. Leinert estimated that he was 30
feet or slightly further from Mitchell when he made these observations
from the front of Menick's vehicle. 

During his testimony, Leinert volunteered that he visually examined
the gutter and there was nothing in the gutter. He had seen the news
that night which showed a screwdriver in the gutter, and there had
been no screwdriver in the gutter immediately after the shooting.
Leinert specifically looked in that area because he assumed he would
be testifying someday about the shooting and he wanted to remember
everything. Leinert said he focused with equal intensity on the
sidewalk and there were no items on the sidewalk either. It was also
true, however, that after the van drove by, Leinert never again saw
the object that had been in Mitchell's hand. 

Leinert remained at the front of Menick's vehicle until Goines
returned with Menick's.42 license, approximately five to ten minutes
later. Menick did not get out of his car. When Goines returned
Menick's license, Goines said, "Get the hell out of here", and they
immediately drove off northbound on La Brea Avenue. No one obtained
his or Menick's name or identifying information. 

Leinert said that prior to these questions posed to him during this
Grand Jury appearance, he had not been interviewed. He testified that
L.A.P.D. wanted to interview him, but he declined because he was
afraid of L.A.P.D. and feared reprisals. Leinert also stated during
his testimony that he was concerned that because of his testimony, he
would now be "harassed" by the police. 

Leinert testified that Terrell began representing him in connection
with this matter approximately one or two days after the shooting.
Leinert testified that on the same day as the shooting, he contacted
every news station, but they were not interested in talking to him.
Menick contacted Terrell after hearing him on the radio, and that was
how Terrell came to represent Leinert. 

Kelly Page 

Kelly Page, who was visiting the car dealership at the time of the
shooting, provided information on two occasions regarding her
observations of the shooting: (1) On January 4, 2000, she was
interviewed by L.A.P.D. investigators; and (2) On January 30, 2001,
she testified before the Grand Jury. 

January 4, 2000, interview: 

Page told L.A.P.D. investigators that she was standing in the showroom
of the car dealership located at the corner of Fourth Street and La
Brea Avenue about to exit when she became aware of a commotion on the
street corner. From the door to the showroom she saw a male and a
female police officer with their guns drawn yelling unknown words at
someone who was to their west. (These officers will be referred to
herein as "Larrigan" and "Clark"). Page could not see this person
because her view was blocked by the display vehicles. The officers
began to chase this person westbound on Fourth Street, and when they
turned around and headed east, Page saw that it was an elderly
African-American woman with a shopping cart. (This elderly woman will
be referred to herein as "Mitchell".) 

Page saw Mitchell have some kind of interaction with the officers, and
then Mitchell grabbed the front of the shopping cart and pulled it as
she walked away, now heading south on the west sidewalk of La Brea
Avenue. When Mitchell had walked approximately 20 to 30 feet south,
Page saw her waving a screwdriver at the officers in a threatening
manner, as if to tell them to "get away". Before Mitchell and the
officers left the street corner, Page saw a tall man standing to the
west of them, but he did not do anything and Page did not hear him say
anything..43 

As the three individuals moved south, Page followed them visually from
inside the showroom to the point furthest south, and could see them
only intermittently because her view was blocked by display vehicles.
Larrigan was closer to the curb and Clark was near the car dealership.
At a certain point, only Larrigan remained in view. Page saw Larrigan
lunge in a south direction with his arms extended out. He then moved
back and lost his balance and slipped off the sidewalk, using his left
hand to prevent him from completely falling down. Page was unsure
whether Larrigan had a gun in his hand. 

Larrigan stood up, but Page's view of him was blocked by a vehicle.
Then Larrigan moved back into view and Page heard him yell, "Stop or
I'll shoot!" Page warned people in the showroom to stay away from the
window and, as they started to move back, Page heard a gunshot. She
saw Larrigan raise the gun but did not see him discharge the weapon. 

Page then ran outside to help. The officers told her to move back and
she explained that she was a minister[sic] and was going to minister
to Mitchell. The officers permitted her to approach Mitchell. When
Page was next to Mitchell, Clark approached and told her the woman's
name was "Margaret", but Page did not know how Clark obtained her
name. January 30, 2001 

Page was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. The
following summarizes only those portions of her testimony that are
either inconsistent with or supplemental to her interview with
L.A.P.D.30 

Page testified that what caught her attention was the noise of raised
voices from the street, north of the dealership building. She could
not discern any words, but she recalled male voices. As far as she
knew, however, several persons could have been yelling. Page said that
she remained on the south side of the showroom and made observations
from there. She realized there was some trouble on Fourth Street
because the officers had their guns pointed toward some unknown person
to their west and they were following this person in a westerly
direction. The officers were very obviously police officers because of
the way they were dressed. 

At times Larrigan and Clark held their guns straight out, as if they
were pointed at someone, and other times, they were pointed toward the
ground. The officers were saying something, but Page could not tell
what it was, and they were moving very cautiously. 

Page saw another male out on the sidewalk at this time who seemed to
confuse things, by putting himself in a "difficult" situation. He was
out of place and he forced the officers to pay attention to him when
they were trying to concentrate on Mitchell. This man was in his early
to mid-forties, Caucasian and athletic-looking. He was positioned
between the officers and Mitchell, but further north, perhaps even in
the street. Besides these four individuals, there was no one else on
the sidewalk. When Mitchell and the officers left the corner, Page
completely lost track of this man. After that, Page saw no one else
near them. The only male African-American Page was aware of, arrived
after the shooting, and he seemed to come from the car dealership. 

Page testified that when she first saw Mitchell, Mitchell was pushing
her shopping cart in a normal fashion westbound on Fourth street,
trying to get away from the officers. She turned around, grabbed her
cart and started heading east, pulling it behind her rather than
pushing it. When Mitchell changed her direction, she got very close to
the officers, approximately two to three feet away. They let her pass
and made no attempt to physically contact her. This was when Mitchell
first had the screwdriver in her left hand. She was holding it by the
handle, with her arm extended in front of her and her elbow slightly
bent. The tip of the screwdriver was pointed slightly upward and to
the left. When Mitchell was travelling south on the west side of La
Brea Avenue, she was pulling the cart behind her as fast as she could.
The cart appeared heavy for her, preventing her from running. She was
walking as fast as she could. At one point she let go of the cart and
positioned herself beside it. That was when, in Page's words, Mitchell
"shook" the screwdriver at the officers, and was, "shaking her little
thing". Page demonstrated Mitchell'suld not remember what they said.
They also 

were telling Mitchell to "stop" 

elbow and moving her hand up and down by the elbow and wrist. Page
could not tell if Mitchell said anything as she shook the screwdriver.


As the officers followed her, Larrigan was closer to the building and
Clark was closer to the street. They were approximately 15 feet behind
Mitchell. Something was being said, but Page could not tell what it
was. When Mitchell stopped, the officers stopped as well. Shortly
before the shooting Larrigan fell while standing on the west side of
the sidewalk. He was not near the curb. Larrigan lost his balance and
stumbled accidentally, although he did not fall all the way to the
ground. Page recalled that he might have broken his fall with his
hand. 

Mitchell then continued southbound and the participants' voices,
particularly Larrigan's, got louder and angrier. Mitchell's voice also
sounded angry and Page recalled that.45 Mitchell was yelling without
saying any words. It was shortly after this that Page could no longer
see Mitchell. 

During her Grand Jury testimony, Page recalled that Larrigan did, in
fact, have a gun in his hand when he stumbled on the sidewalk. She
further testified that both officers had a double-handed grip on their
guns for the entire incident. 

Page testified that she never saw either Larrigan or Clark lunge in
Mitchell's direction or attempt to disarm her. At the time of the
shot, Larrigan was, at a minimum, ten feet away from Mitchell. Page
also testified that Mitchell did not travel anywhere after she was
shot, but fell at the base of the newspaper stand. 

Page testified that immediately after the shooting, both officers were
doing what Page said was known as "scanning". Clark was crouched down
low, close to the street, and Larrigan was near the building, and they
were looking carefully in all surrounding directions. 

Page testified that she walked out of the dealership after the
shooting, approached Larrigan and told him that she was going to
assist Mitchell. Larrigan told her she had to leave because it was a
police area. Page refused to move and turned toward Clark and said, "I
am going to help the woman." Larrigan said, "Lady, you are going to
have to step back. This is a dangerous area." Page then turned toward
him and said, forcefully, "I am a minister[sic]. I am going to
minister to this woman now." Page was very close to Larrigan's face
and they stared at each other for a long moment. Clark then said to
Page, "Go ahead. It's okay." Larrigan appeared extremely shaken, and,
in fact, was physically shaking. Clark was more composed and
business-like about taking the necessary steps to secure the scene. 

Page attended to Mitchell and a motorcycle officer, who was Caucasian
with light red, curly hair, approached immediately 31 . Page was with
Mitchell for seven to eight minutes until the paramedics arrived,
during which time Mitchell was not conscious. 

Page saw the screwdriver in the gutter, approximately two to three
feet away from Mitchell and out of reach of her hands. Page did not
know whether that was the original position of the screwdriver or if
was placed there. 

Page provided her name, address and telephone number to an officer at
the scene and gave a brief statement of her observations. L.A.P.D.
investigators contacted her approximately nine or ten months later and
thoroughly interviewed her. Barry Henley 

Henley was driving south on La Brea Avenue near the intersection of
Fourth Street when the events leading to the shooting of Mitchell took
place, and he provided formal statements on two occasions: (1) On May
28, 1999, he was interviewed by Special Agent Stapleton of the F.B.I.,
which was not recorded; and (2) On January 29, 2001, he testified
before the Grand Jury. 

May 28, 1999, interview: Henley told Agent Stapleton that he was
driving south on La Brea Avenue and was stopped at a red traffic light
at Fourth Street when he noticed a motorcycle officer standing near
his motorcycle in the northbound lanes of La Brea Avenue. Henley then
looked to his right and saw a woman moving quickly on the sidewalk,
being chased by two police officers. Henley could not tell the gender
of the officers. The woman was pulling a shopping cart with her left
hand and the cart was trailing between her and the officers. (This
woman will be referred to herein as "Mitchell"). 

Henley stated that the officer closest to the curb lost his or her
balance and fell to the left, off the curb, ending up in a kneeling or
leaning position. As the officer was falling, Henley heard a gunshot
and saw that Mitchell fell face down near a newspaper stand. Henley
saw nothing in Mitchell's hand. In the officer's hand, Henley noticed
an automatic handgun, which he had not noticed before the gunshot.
Henley did not see the officer remove the gun from his or her holster.


At the time of the shooting, the officers were only a few feet away
from Mitchell, and they seemed to be catching her. 

After the shot, the motorcycle officer who had been on the east side
of La Brea Avenue, ran across the street to where the shooting took
place. Henley also recalled seeing a female, driving a possibly black
sport utility vehicle, get out of her vehicle and run toward the
scene. When Henley pulled his vehicle up past the curb where Mitchell
was lying, Henley noticed that she was still breathing and there was
movement in her eyes. January 29, 2001, Grand Jury testimony: 

Henley was subpoenaed to and testified before the Grand Jury. The
following summary reflects only those portions of Henley's testimony
that are inconsistent with or supplemental to the statements he
provided to the F.B.I. on May 28, 1999. Henley testified that before
he made any observations, while he was stopped at the red light there
was a "surreal stillness" in the air and his attention was intuitively
drawn to the west side of the street. There was, however, nothing in
particular like something he heard or saw that drew his attention to
this area. 

Henley testified that he was stopped for the red light in the far
right lane and he did not think there were any cars ahead of him
stopped at the light.32 

When he saw Mitchell, he did not see anything in her hands, however
her right hand was not visible to him. She was pulling the cart with
her left hand. Henley testified that the officers' hands were visible
to him and he noticed nothing in them. As far as he could recall,
nothing obstructed his view of Mitchell and the officers. Mitchell was
walking very fast, and the officer closest to the curb was running.
They were separated by approximately ten feet. 

Mitchell was moving south, but because she was pulling the cart behind
her, her upper body was somewhat twisted north. 

Henley testified that he did not recall hearing any voices or any
yelling. When the officer closest to the curb fell, he or she fell to
the ground, and landed on the sidewalk, very close to the street. This
officer might have landed in a sitting position. Henley testified that
his first thought was that the motorcycle officer shot Mitchell,
because Henley did not see the officer closest to the curb in
possession of a gun, and immediately when the shot was fired, the
motorcycle officer was running across the street. Henley never saw a
gun until after the shooting. Henley said that the shot rang out
within a "split second" of the officer going down. It happened "almost
simultaneously". Henley testified that the officer was on the ground
when the shot was fired and that clearly, this officer did not get up,
steady him or herself and then discharge his or her weapon. If the
officer who had fallen was the one who had discharged his or her
weapon, Henley testified it would be a very strong possibility that
the discharge was accidental. Henley stated he still did not know
which of the three officers shot Mitchell. Henley said that at first,
he was not even certain it was a gunshot that he heard. The sound was
more flat than what he expected a gunshot to sound like based on what
he had seen in films. 

Henley testified that it was absolutely clear to him that the officer
closest to the curb accidentally fell. That officer did not crouch
down or, in any manner, intentionally go down. The officer simply lost
his or her footing. 

When the shot was fired, Henley estimated the distance between the
officer who fell and Mitchell was anywhere from four and ten feet. 

Henley testified that for a second or so immediately before the
shooting, he was not looking at Mitchell and he could not say what she
was doing, because Henley was focused on the officer. Since
immediately thereafter the officer fell and the shot rang out, Henley
was not looking at Mitchell when she was shot, but at the officer. 

Henley estimated that the period of time between the moment he first
saw Mitchell and the discharge of the weapon, was two or three
seconds. Henley also testified that he never observed a screwdriver in
connection with anything that occurred during this incident. All of
Henley's observations were made from within his car. Medical Evidence 

Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedics arrived at the west
sidewalk of La Brea Avenue, south of Fourth Street, at 4:26 p.m.
Mitchell was treated at the scene and transported to Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, where she arrived at 4:50 p.m. In the emergency room,
several surgical procedures were performed in an attempt to sustain
Mitchell's life, which were unsuccessful. At 5:09 p.m. death was
pronounced by Dr. Jeff Arnold. 

On May 23, 1999, a post-mortem examination of Mitchell was performed
by Deputy Medical Examiner Jeffrey Gutstadt. Dr. Gutstadt concluded
that the cause of death was from a single gunshot wound to Mitchell's
right chest. Specifically, he found that from an indeterminate
distance, Mitchell was shot in her upper right chest, with the entry
wound being 11 inches from the top of her head and one and one-half
inches to the right of midline. The projectile traveled from front to
back, right to left and slightly upward. It fractured the right
clavicle, perforated the right jugular vein, severed the spinal cord,
fractured the number two left back rib and exited Mitchell's left
back. The exit wound was in the upper left back, ten and one-half
inches from the top of Mitchell's head and two and one-half inches to
the left of midline. A toxicological analysis of Mitchell's blood was
performed, which was negative for alcohol or controlled substances.
Larrigan's Background 

L.A.P.D. provided what appeared to be a complete copy of Larrigan's
personnel file. According to the information contained in the file,
Larrigan graduated from High School in 1989 and spent a short time
attending Pasadena City College. He attended the police academy from
April of 1994 to October of 1994. His first assignment was to the
Southeast Division until October of 1995 when he was transferred to
Wilshire Division. He was a member of Wilshire CRASH 33 from April of
1996 to July of 1997, and in early 1998, he was temporarily assigned
to Wilshire CRASH detectives. In October 1998 this assignment was
extended. In March of 1999, he returned to a position as a patrol
officer and was assigned to the Wilshire Bicycle unit. 

Other than any disciplinary action with respect to this incident, on
two occasions Larrigan was disciplined for misconduct. In May of 1995
Larrigan was suspended for one day for "neglect of duty" because he
lost a taser that had been checked out to him. In January of 1999, he
was counseled for "failure to qualify" because he neglected to qualify
with his 9mm service weapon in November of 1998. 

In the five years Larrigan had been an officer, he received numerous
commendations and his Performance Evaluation Reports were generally
favorable. 

Physical Evidence 

Eighty items of physical evidence were collected by L.A.P.D. in
connection with the investigation of this case. Forty-eight items were
recovered from the scene of the shooting. The vast majority of these
items came from within the shopping cart that was in Mitchell's
possession. Among those numerous items that had been in the cart was
an L.A.P.D. citation and notice to appear in the name "Margaret
Laverne Mitchell" for an alleged violation of "22435.2(f) B&P – obs'd
viol in possession of a shopping cart – (Staples)". The remaining 32
items of physical evidence collected included firearms evidence, e.g.,
live and test-fired cartridges and cartridge casings from Larrigan's
9mm service weapon; clothing and personal items that had been worn by
Mitchell at the time of the shooting; and items collected by the
coroner, specifically, bullet fragments from Mitchell's fractured
right clavicle, and hair and fingernail kits. 

The items recovered of greatest relevance were: (1) Property Report
Item #3, a 12 inch overall length, metal flathead screwdriver with a
yellow, plastic handle, which was recovered in the street
approximately 18 inches from the west curb, adjacent to and slightly
north of a newspaper stand that was on the west sidewalk, and 107 feet
south of Fourth Street, with its seven-inch blade pointing northeast;
(2) Property Report Item #2, one 9mm brass expended Luger cartridge
casing on the west sidewalk, approximately seven feet northwest of a
shopping cart, 98 feet south of Fourth Street and seven feet, four
inches, west of the west curb of La Brea Avenue; and (3) Property
Report Item #4, a chrome Ralph's Grocery Store shopping cart, which
was 105 feet, five inches south of Fourth Street, and three feet,
eight inches west of the west curb of La Brea Avenue, with the handle
portion, by which such a cart is normally pushed, furthest southeast,
and the basket portion pointed in a northwest direction.34 

Multiple photographs depict items of evidence recovered from the
scene, numerous views of the site of the shooting, and the position of
nearby vehicles. Among other things, these photographs depict a black
sport utility vehicle belonging to Officer Hope Young pulled up to the
west curb of La Brea Avenue, several yards north of the newspaper
stand, positioned in a southwest direction, with its rear slightly
protruding into the number two, or center, lane of southbound La Brea
Avenue traffic. Parked behind this vehicle is a red Pontiac belonging
to James Moody. Along the elevated north-south platform of the car
dealership, four Jeep Cherokees were parked for display purposes in a
slight southeasterly direction. L.A.P.D. also submitted photographs of
Officers Larrigan and Clark taken shortly after the incident. The
photographs of Larrigan show a fresh, small, round, red abrasion on
the bottom right side of his right knee.35 

Measurements were taken at the scene with the following results: La
Brea Avenue is 70 feet in width and the shooting in question took
place on the west sidewalk of La Brea Avenue approximately 90 to 105
feet south of the south curb of Fourth Street and two feet west of the
west curb of La Brea Avenue. The west sidewalk measures 15 feet in
width. La Brea Avenue is bordered on the south by Sixth Street 36 . 

Two communications tapes were submitted to this office by L.A.P.D.
which reflect radio communications regarding this incident on two
L.A.P.D. frequencies. At the beginning of one of the tapes, just after
an unrelated robbery is reported at a location described as "12th
Street and New Hampshire", there is a brief communication by a male
officer identifying himself as "seven cycle 26", requesting back-up
and additional units at what sounds like La Brea Avenue. "Seven cycle
26" was the assigned unit for Clark and Larrigan. Heard during this
brief communication, is a considerable amount of background noise,
including a raised female voice. The male officer sounds excited and
the communication is abruptly disconnected before a more exact
location is reported. 

Almost immediately thereafter, as the dispatcher is beginning to
broadcast the officer's request for back-up, the dispatcher is
interrupted by the same male officer, still sounding highly agitated,
who now requests three additional units and a supervisor at La Brea
Avenue, just south of Fourth Street. The ensuing radio communications
on both frequencies reflect the police activity that occurred in the
aftermath of the shooting. 

An L.A.P.D. Firearms Analyzed Evidence report indicated that
Larrigan's 9mm service weapon was test-fired from various distances at
a stationery target in an effort to reproduce the gunshot residue
patterns found on the shirt and sweater worn by Mitchell. This was
done to help fix the limits of the probable distance from which
Mitchell was shot. These tests were completed on June 22, 1999, the
results of which establish that gunshot residue patterns culminating
from test-firing at distances greater than one foot and less that six
feet most closely resembled the patterns detected on Mitchell's
clothing. Mitchell's Criminal History 

No automated criminal history of any type could be located for
Mitchell. Mitchell, however, had been issued citations for unlawful
possession of a shopping cart on four recent occasions: November 4,
1998 37 ; January 28, 1999; February 18, 1999; and 
February 19, 1999. 

LEGAL ANALYSIS 

Pursuant to the District Attorney's Legal Policies Manual, the
determination of whether to file criminal charges must include a
consideration of the defenses likely to be raised by an accused. Among
the criteria for charging, is the following: 

The prosecutor has considered the probability of conviction by an
objective fact finder and has determined that the admissible evidence
is of such convincing force that it would warrant conviction of the
crime charged by a reasonable and objective fact finder after hearing
all the evidence available to the prosecutor at the time of charging
and after considering the most plausible, reasonably foreseeable
defense inherent in the prosecution evidence. Legal Policies Manual,
Chapter 1, IA4. 

Therefore, in order to determine whether criminal charges should be
filed in connection with the shooting of Margaret Mitchell, the issue
must be resolved as to whether there is sufficient evidence that
establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Mitchell's death was due
neither to an accidental discharge of Larrigan's gun nor to a
justifiable act of self-defense. Thus, there must be sufficiently
convincing evidence that Larrigan intentionally shot Mitchell and that
he did not do so in lawful defense of himself or another. 

The doctrine of self-defense is as follows: The use of deadly force
constitutes a lawful and justifiable act of self-defense or defense of
another, when the person using the deadly force actually and
reasonably believes (1) that there is imminent danger that the person
against whom the deadly force is used will either kill or cause great
bodily injury to himself or another person and (2) that it is
necessary under the circumstances to use deadly force to prevent that
person from killing or causing great bodily injury. See CALJIC
Instructions 5.12, 5.13, 5.14 and 5.16. Thus, it is necessary to
determine Larrigan's beliefs at the moment he decided to fire his
weapon and whether those beliefs were reasonable. Since Larrigan's
compelled statement would not be admissible evidence in a criminal
proceeding, and there is no other evidence of any other statements or
admissions he made, his state of mind can only be inferred from the
facts immediately preceding the discharge of his weapon. Similarly,
whether Larrigan discharged his weapon intentionally or accidentally
is, likewise, dependent on the same facts. 

It is the considered opinion of this office, after carefully reviewing
all available information surrounding the shooting of Margaret
Mitchell, that the state of the evidence pertaining to the conduct of
the involved individuals, i.e., Mitchell and Larrigan, is not
sufficiently certain to establish with any confidence what transpired
before Mitchell was shot or to disprove Larrigan's anticipated claims
of accident or self-defense. Specifically, the statements and
testimony provided by the percipient witnesses to this incident are so
disparate and, in some cases, unreliable, that to base a criminal
prosecution on them.52 would be capricious. 

Before proceeding to an analysis of the specifics of the various
witnesses' statements, several facts, not in dispute, must be noted.
First, the screwdriver recovered from the scene was 12 inches in
length overall, with the metal segment alone measuring seven inches.
Compared to the size of most screwdrivers, the one wielded by Mitchell
was exceedingly large. Second, the vehicles found at the scene closest
to the incident belonged to off-duty Officer Young and civilian James
Moody, suggesting that they both had favorable vantage points. Third,
Larrigan appeared to have a fresh abrasion on his right knee,
suggesting that he may have hit the ground with his knee with
considerable force at some point. Finally, and most important, the
gunshot wound suffered by Mitchell, entered her upper chest, just
right of the midline of her body and exited her upper left back, two
and one-half inches from her midline. This angle strongly suggests
that Mitchell had turned completely around and was facing north, and
that Larrigan was in front of her to her right, when the shot was
fired. For Mitchell to have twisted her upper body north, keeping her
lower body pointed south, or even southeast, Larrigan would have had
to have been south of her or parallel to her to have inflicted a wound
with the indicated path, neither of which has been suggested by any
witness to the incident. 

The key factual issues to determine whether Larrigan intentionally
fired his weapon and, if so, whether he did so in self-defense,
involve (1) Mitchell's conduct immediately before the shooting; and
(2) Larrigan's conduct immediately before the shooting. In assessing
the quality and reliability of the various witnesses' statements, it
is necessary to consider each witness' consistency, both internally
and when compared with other evidence 38 , as well as his or her
logic, opportunity to perceive, and bias. 

Officer Clark, the witness in closest proximity to the incident,
clearly stated that Mitchell was extremely hostile, threatened to kill
her and Larrigan several times, and lunged toward Larrigan with the
screwdriver in a stabbing motion, after turning completely around to
face him. She also stated that shortly before the shooting, Larrigan
was involved in some physical commotion, but she did not see whether
he fell or stumbled. Clark remained fairly consistent in her
description of these events throughout her several statements and
Grand Jury testimony. Changes in her statements involved her later
testimony that: (1) Moody's involvement was a hindrance which, in her
opinion, contributed to their "losing control" of the situation; (2)
Larrigan physically pulled Moody away from the encounter; and (3)
Mitchell's movement toward Larrigan was "not a full-out lunge", but
rather a step toward Larrigan with her arm raised above her head. 

These differences are not direct contradictions, and it must be noted
that in her earlier statement, Clark was not asked specific questions
that would normally elicit these detailed responses. Also, the
substance of these added facts are consistent with Clark's initial
explanation of events, so that it cannot be said that her assessment
of the situation has changed. Her testimony was logical and consistent
with known facts, although certainly not consistent with other
witnesses' statements. Overall, Clark's demeanor during her Grand Jury
appearance was cooperative and responsive, and she displayed no
obvious bias. Other than an arguably inherent bias she may possess as
a police officer, and her admitted friendship with Larrigan, she is a
credible witness. 

Citizen James Moody was also in an advantageous position to observe
the events leading up to the shooting of Mitchell. Moody, during his
initial statement to L.A.P.D. said, at various points, that Mitchell
was trying to "stab" and "cut" Larrigan, was "swinging" and "slinging"
the screwdriver toward the officers, and was "sticking it" at them.
Moody was clear that Clark, rather than Larrigan, shot Mitchell as
Larrigan was attempting to disarm her and that Larrigan was four to
five feet away from Mitchell at the time. Moody reported that there
was nothing in Larrigan's hands immediately before the shooting, and
that Larrigan had fallen to the ground. He stated that, at first, he
thought Larrigan had been shot by Clark. 

During his interview with the F.B.I., Moody reported several
significantly different facts. He said that Mitchell never waved the
screwdriver in a stabbing motion and never extended her arms. Moody
also said for the first time that he saw a gun in Larrigan's hand
before the shooting, and that it was Larrigan, rather than Clark, who
shot Mitchell. Moody also said for the first time that he was turned
toward his car at the exact moment the shot was fired, and when he
turned around, Larrigan was stumbling with the gun in his hand. Moody
also denied ever stating that Clark shot Mitchell or that Mitchell was
trying to stab the officers. 

During his Grand Jury appearance, Moody testified to other
significantly different facts. Moody said that the only motion made by
Mitchell with the screwdriver was when Larrigan approached her and
pointed his gun at her, and then she only moved it up and down by the
elbow. Mitchell never tried to "hit" "cut" or "stab" the officers. He
also offered his opinion, without being asked, that Mitchell did not
see the words "police" on the back of the officers' jackets. He
testified that Larrigan had his gun pointed at Mitchell the entire
time he was moving south on La Brea and he never made an attempt to
disarm Mitchell. Moody also said he never noticed that Larrigan
stumbled or fell and he never thought Larrigan might have been shot.
He was definite that Larrigan, rather than Clark, shot Mitchell and he
testified that all he had said in the past was that Clark could have
shot Mitchell, but not that she did. Also, Moody made both of the
following statements: (1) he did not notice whether Clark had her gun
out at the time of the shooting; and (2) Clark was not pointing her
gun at anyone at the time of the shooting. Moody also stated for the
first time that when he tried to get involved in the situation,
Larrigan pointed his gun at Moody and said "get away". 

From these varying statements, Moody appears to be an unreliable
witness. There are.54 contradictions among his statements, as well as
contradictions within his statements. These inconsistencies go to
material facts, as well as collateral facts. Also, there is some
question as to his competency as a witness. For instance, it is very
troubling that within the same interview, Moody stated that he dropped
his wife off at a store before he saw Mitchell, but inadvertently
commented that he and his wife discussed Mitchell's conduct as they
viewed it. 

This negative assessment of Moody's value as a witness was arrived at
only after reviewing both the transcript and the tape-recording of his
statement. Further, even allowing for the possibility of innocent
misstatement, and considering Moody's animated style of communication,
the discrepancies are too conspicuous to be discounted. In terms of
demeanor, Moody sounded biased during his Grand Jury testimony. He
repeatedly referred to the screwdriver wielded by Mitchell as a
"little old screwdriver" and made it clear that he believed that
Larrigan acted maliciously. His opinion of Larrigan's attitude might
not be so disturbing had Moody not expressed such a favorable opinion
of Larrigan during his initial interview. This bias is further
supported by Moody's testimony that Larrigan pointed his gun at Moody
to force Moody to stay away from the officers' encounter with
Mitchell. Considering that during his L.A.P.D. interview, Moody's
description of Larrigan's reaction to his attempt to intervene was to
say, "that's okay, don't worry about it", the extreme response of
pointing his weapon at Moody seems too incongruous to be credible.
Based on these factors, Moody cannot be relied on to accurately shed
light on the facts leading up to Mitchell's shooting. 

Another witness who seems to have been in an advantageous position to
observe these events is off-duty Officer Young. In her interview with
L.A.P.D. on the night of the incident, Young said that before the
involved individuals left the corner, Mitchell had been yelling and
waving the screwdriver in an irrational way. Immediately before the
shooting, Mitchell turned toward Larrigan, and with the screwdriver
extended in front of her, took a step toward Larrigan and lunged at
him. Young was unaware of which officer discharged the weapon and did
not notice whether Larrigan fell. 

During her subsequent interview with the F.B.I., Young described
Mitchell's "lunge" as a thrusting motion, with Mitchell extending the
hand which held the screwdriver out in front of her. Young clarified
that Mitchell did not have the screwdriver held over her head. The
only inconsistent statement Young made was that she said that Larrigan
had his gun in a "low-ready" position during the pursuit, but she was
unsure about Clark, whereas during her earlier interview, Young said
that Clark had re-holstered her weapon, but she was unsure about
Larrigan. During her Grand Jury testimony, Clark said she was unsure
whether Mitchell held the screwdriver in an underhand or overhand
manner when she lunged at Larrigan. Arguably, this is inconsistent
with her statement to the F.B.I. that Mitchell did not hold the
screwdriver over her head. Also, Young testified that she did not see
whether either officer physically pushed Moody away from the
encounter, and she told the F.B.I. that Larrigan grabbed Moody by the
arm and pulled him away. These differences in her statements may be
due to the passage of time and Young's fading memory. In any event,
they do not seem to affect the gist of Young's testimony that.55
Mitchell appeared to be making an attempt to harm Larrigan with the
screwdriver. 

Young did not convey any bias during her testimony and said she had
and has no relationship whatsoever with Larrigan or Clark. Other than
bias that might be ascribed to her by virtue of her profession, Young
appeared to be a fairly credible witness. Civilian Derrick Keaton was
working at the car dealership. Although in his initial statement to
L.A.P.D., he said he thought others, particularly Officer Young, had a
better view than he had, nonetheless, Keaton gave a fairly detailed
description of his observations. Keaton stated that before she was
shot, Mitchell did not turn around toward the officers and was shot as
she was running from them. Also, according to Keaton, Mitchell never
lunged toward the officers. Based on his observations, Keaton expected
that Mitchell was shot in the back. This, however, is not consistent
with the evidence and suggests that Keaton may not have been in a
position to make these important observations. 

Further, although Keaton remained constant on these points, in other
areas his testimony changed. During his initial statement to L.A.P.D.,
he said the following: (1) He had some prior contact with Mitchell and
described her as "mean and quiet"; (2) When Moody tried to intervene,
the officers seemed pleased and did not push him away; (3) Clark was
closer to the street and Larrigan was closer to the car dealership;
(4) Larrigan did not fall; and (5) Keaton thought that Larrigan's gun
went off accidentally as he was running. In his later statement to the
F.B.I. and during his Grand Jury testimony, Keaton said the following:
(1) Mitchell was "kind of nice" and "not friendly, but not mean"; (2)
The officers were clearly disturbed that Moody tried to intervene and
raised their voices at him; (3) Larrigan was closer to the street and
Clark was closer to the car dealership; (4) Larrigan slipped off the
curb and fell, but regained his balance before the shooting; and (5)
Larrigan did not accidentally shoot Mitchell and, indeed, took aim at
her before shooting her. Keaton also testified that Mitchell's hands
were definitely empty as she ran south on La Brea Avenue and he
believed she dropped the screwdriver near some planters next to the
car dealership. This is inconsistent with a majority of the other
witnesses who saw the screwdriver in Mitchell's hand either as she was
running or when she fell to the ground. Whether these changes in
Keaton's testimony are due to his inability to perceive, his fading
memory or a recently developed bias is unclear. In any event, Keaton
is not a sufficiently reliable witness. 

Civilian Pamela Littky, a passing motorist, said that Mitchell was
running south on La Brea Avenue, and immediately before she was shot,
turned around toward the officers, had a verbal exchange with them and
moved her hand in their direction as if she was engaging in a sword
fight. Littky further said that Mitchell had some object in her hand,
although Littky did not know what it was. According to Littky, the
movement Mitchell made with her hand was small and she did not lunge
toward the officers. Littky estimated that Larrigan was four feet away
from Mitchell when she was shot. 

During her subsequent interview with members of this office, Littky
added that there was another instance as Mitchell proceeded south on
La Brea Avenue, when she turned.56 around toward the officers. Littky,
however, first said that Mitchell and the officers were ten feet apart
the first time Mitchell turned toward them, and four feet apart the
second, and last, time she turned toward them. Later, during the same
interview, Littky reversed these distances. Littky also said that a
blond woman, who she later saw driving a black sport utility vehicle,
approached Mitchell and the officers while they were on the street and
the officers may have told this woman to get away. It appears that
Littky confused Young's involvement with that of Moody. Littky also
said that her car was the first one stopped at the red light on
southbound La Brea Avenue in the far right lane, the same position
that witness Henley claimed his car occupied during the incident.
These inconsistencies and misperceptions, however, do not appear to be
the result of any bias on Littky's part. In other respects and in
terms of her demeanor, Littky appeared to be a credible witness. 

Civilian Gary Miller was a motorist driving north on the opposite side
of La Brea Avenue. To see the incident, he had to turn his head to the
left and, as to the key events that occurred just moments before the
shooting, Miller had to turn his head further and look over his left
shoulder. Basically, Miller said two male officers were walking behind
Mitchell, neither of whom were armed. Mitchell turned toward the
officers and said something. Miller turned away for two or three
seconds and when he looked back, Mitchell had a screwdriver in her
hand and was holding it toward the ground at her side. The officer
closest to the curb then shot Mitchell once. Miller assumed this
officer shot Mitchell because he was the only one Miller saw with a
gun. Miller observed this "out of the corner of [his] eye", and could
only see the officers from the rear. 

During his later interview with the F.B.I., Miller added that after
the shot was fired, the shooting officer stepped down from the curb,
but Miller could not tell if he fell or intentionally stepped down.
During his most recent interview by members of this office, Miller
said that the officer did not stumble, but deliberately stepped off
the curb. He also said that he observed that the officer furthest from
him was female and the one closer to the curb was male. Miller added
that Mitchell turned back twice toward the officers. Also, when
Larrigan shot Mitchell, he did not extend his arm out. It was as if he
"shot from the hip". 

In evaluating him as a witness, the inconsistencies noted above may be
due to a combination of assimilating information he acquired since the
incident, and, simply, fading recollection. They do not change the
basic tenor of his observations, and he displayed no apparent bias. Of
greater concern is that his opportunity to observe events might have
been hampered by his position across the street while facing north.
Although his more recent statement that Larrigan "shot from the hip"
could be consistent with the theory of an accidental discharge,
according to Miller's first statement, his view of Larrigan was
limited to a rear perspective, rendering that conclusion speculative.
Further, based on the position of Young's sport utility vehicle as
reflected in the photographs of the scene, there seems to be a
reasonable possibility that Miller's view was at least partially
obstructed..57 

Before analyzing Officer Goines' value as a witness, it should be
mentioned that in connection with this shooting, Goines has been
somewhat of a controversial figure. Slightly more than a year after
the incident, Goines stated publicly that he believed the force used
by Larrigan was excessive. Shortly thereafter, Goines filed a lawsuit
against L.A.P.D. for damages based on his allegation that L.A.P.D. had
retaliated against him for breaking an alleged "code of silence" with
respect to this case. Thus, Goines, arguably, has some interest in a
finding that Larrigan's conduct was unwarranted and/or criminal, in
that his credibility would be bolstered thereby. 

In Goines' initial statement to L.A.P.D. on the night of the incident,
Goines said that based on his observations of the officers' pursuit of
Mitchell, their request for back-up, Mitchell's verbal exchange with
them and her apparent refusal to cooperate, he perceived that
something was amiss. Goines did not include among these observations,
that Mitchell was armed. Goines, thus, decided to assist Larrigan and
Clark by approaching Mitchell from behind, and preventing her forward,
i.e., southerly, progress. As he tried to get across the street,
however, a van stopped in front of him, blocking his view, during
which time Mitchell was shot. It was only afterwards that he saw the
screwdriver in Mitchell's hand. 

His next statement, 14 months later, was a deposition taken by
attorney Terrell in the civil lawsuit, portions of which were reported
by the media. During this deposition, Terrell played the entire tape
of Goines' L.A.P.D. interview for Goines to comment upon, question by
question. In this deposition, Goines said that, in fact, he had seen
the screwdriver in Mitchell's hand before the shooting and his purpose
in going across the street was to disarm her. He said that while
another suspect in the same position and armed similarly to Mitchell
might pose a deadly threat, Mitchell did not because of her mental
condition and size. Inconsistent with this first interview, Goines was
adamant during his deposition that he returned the motorist's license
before, rather than after, Goines proceeded across the street. Goines
also mentioned that after the shooting, Larrigan was rising up from
the street to the curb, as if he had slipped off the curb, causing
Goines to think that the discharge may have been accidental. 

During his next statement, which was an F.B.I. interview, Goines'
reverted to his earlier assertion that he had not seen anything in
Mitchell's hand before she was shot. Goines also explained that
Larrigan did not slip, but was coming up from a crouched position
after the shooting, with one foot in the street, and one foot on the
sidewalk. 

Finally, in his Grand Jury testimony, Goines again reversed his
statement, and said that he did, in fact, see the screwdriver in
Mitchell's hand before the shooting and he was planning on disarming
her. Further, he described it as dangling down at Mitchell's side,
which she never raised or waved at the officers. Goines stated that he
was shocked that Larrigan had his gun out. Goines first testified that
Larrigan was right-handed and had the gun in his right hand, but then
said he could not recall in which hand Larrigan had the gun. He also
said, again, that Larrigan clearly did not stumble or fall, but came
up from a crouched position..58 

Goines' various assertions are confused and sometimes conflicting.
Goines' earlier description of the facts is much less critical of
Larrigan than his later statement. There is no doubt that he has
extremely negative personal feelings toward L.A.P.D., whether
justified or not. These feelings, however, cannot be ignored in
assessing him as a witness. More troubling is his apparent willingness
to change his statement regarding the point at which he returned the
motorist's license. Regardless of his attitude toward L.A.P.D., there
is no legitimate explanation for such a blatant change in what is a
very straight forward fact, and it may indicate his tendency to alter
his testimony to accommodate his own interests. Thus, in several ways,
Goines can be discredited as a witness. Even assuming the absence of
any bias, his statement that he could not see what transpired
immediately before Mitchell was shot because of the passing van,
renders him of limited value. 

Civilian Jon Menick, the motorist stopped by Goines on the east side
of La Brea Avenue, testified that as he was seated in his car, he saw
Mitchell being pursued by the officers. He saw her turn toward the
officers three times and scream. When Mitchell started to slow down,
Larrigan moved toward the curb and straddled it. At that point, a
white van crossed in front of him blocking his view, at which time he
heard a single shot. Also, Menick said that Larrigan never tripped or
fell. Menick insisted that there was no screwdriver involved in the
incident and that Mitchell was holding a circular white object in her
right hand, like a rolled-up newspaper or a purse. He was also certain
that Goines did not observe any of these events because Goines never
moved from his position facing east at Menick's driver's window.
Further, Menick, contradicting Goines' most recent statement, said
that Goines did not return his license until after the shooting. 

During his Grand Jury testimony, Menick seemed highly critical of
Goines. Also, Menick stated that he did not participate in an
interview with L.A.P.D. on the advice of his attorney, Terrell,
although he knew L.A.P.D. wanted to talk to him. This could indicate a
bias against L.A.P.D. or law enforcement in general. Further, his
steadfast insistence that there was no screwdriver, considering his
disadvantageous distance from the scene, could derive from a tendency
to believe that police officers fabricate evidence, or an honest
misperception. The reasonable conclusion from all the evidence is that
Mitchell was, in fact, armed with a screwdriver, calling into question
Menick's ability to perceive, if not his bias. 

Similarly, Menick's passenger, civilian Michael Leinert, testified
that Mitchell was running with a tubular object that looked like a
rolled-up newspaper in her hand, and that no screwdriver was involved.
He also stated that a van blocked his view just when the shot rang
out. All of the same credibility issues that relate to Menick are just
as applicable to Leinert. In fact, Leinert more directly, expressed
his negative feelings toward L.A.P.D. and his distrust of their
tactics. He stated that Goines was "hassling" Menick, that Goines was
looking to find something in Menick's vehicle that was "worth being
rousted about", and that members of L.A.P.D. might "hassle" him in
retaliation for his saying unfavorable things about the role of law
enforcement in this case. Leinert also.59 stated his suspicion that
Larrigan was pretending to be injured after the shooting. Leinert was
adamant that after the shooting, he looked at the scene from across
the street and was absolutely certain there was no screwdriver
anywhere near the incident. He wanted to "burn" the scene into his
memory because he anticipated a later controversy over the events of
that afternoon. Further, Leinert testified that he would have expected
Mitchell to have been shot in the back, contrary to the medical
evidence. For several reasons, e.g., an obvious display of bias,
inconsistency with known facts, and a limited opportunity to perceive,
Leinert is not a reliable witness and would not be well-received by a
jury. 

Civilian Kelly Page, a customer in the dealership showroom, lost sight
of Mitchell before the shooting, but saw Larrigan lose his balance and
fall to the ground and then yell "stop or I'll shoot" before she heard
a gunshot. Prior to losing sight of Mitchell, Mitchell had waved the
screwdriver at the officers in a threatening manner. Page said that an
athletic-looking, male Caucasian tried to intercede and a curly
red-haired motorcycle officer 

responded from across the street, both of which are faulty
descriptions of the involved individuals. Page also said that Larrigan
was to the west and Clark was to the east, which is inconsistent with
the weight of the evidence. Page testified that after the shooting,
she had a heated exchange with Larrigan over whether she could
approach Mitchell. It was clear from her demeanor on the witness stand
as she described this exchange, that she was still angry about this.
In other respects, she appeared to be an unbiased, forthcoming
witness, despite the curious remarks by her attorney regarding her
mental stability and lack of credibility. Nonetheless, as a witness to
the events immediately before the shooting, Page is of limited value
because she lost sight of Mitchell at the most critical moment. 

Civilian Barry Henley was a passing motorist, who, like Littky,
claimed to be occupying a car positioned southbound on La Brea Avenue
in the western most lane of traffic stopped at a red light at Fourth
Street. Henley said that as Mitchell was travelling south on La Brea
Avenue, twisted slightly around toward the officers, Larrigan
accidentally fell on the sidewalk near the street, simultaneously with
which a gun was discharged. At the time he fell, Larrigan was only a
few feet away from Mitchell and Henley thought that the motorcycle
officer, who he had seen across the street, might have shot Mitchell. 

Henley saw nothing in Mitchell's hands, although he could not see her
right hand, nor did he see a gun prior to the shooting. Henley was
certain that Larrigan fell accidentally, and that the timing of the
gunshot was such that Larrigan could not have gotten up, steadied
himself and discharged his weapon. Henley strongly suspected the
shooting was the result of an accidental discharge. Henley appeared to
be a credible witness and his Grand Jury testimony was fairly
consistent with the earlier statement he had provided to the F.B.I.
Obviously, however, his recollection of the facts varies with what
other witnesses have reported. 

From a review of the above, there is some support for each of the
following scenarios: (1) Larrigan accidentally discharged his weapon
when he lost his balance; (2) Mitchell lunged toward Larrigan with the
screwdriver in her hand moving it in some type of threatening manner,
in response to which Larrigan intentionally shot Mitchell; and (3).60
Mitchell turned toward Larrigan, with or without the screwdriver in
her hand, and Larrigan intentionally shot her, even though she made no
overtly threatening motion toward him. 

Neither scenario (1) nor (2) would support a criminal prosecution of
Larrigan for the fatal shooting of Mitchell because they tend to
suggest, respectively, the defenses of accident and self-defense.
While scenario (3) might warrant a criminal prosecution of Larrigan,
the witnesses upon whose testimony such a theory would rely, have
significant credibility problems: James Moody, Derrick Keaton, John
Goines, Jon Menick and Michael Leinert. 

Indeed, as to some facts, these witnesses contradict each other.
Witnesses Littky, Miller and Page have fewer credibility problems, but
they appear to have had too limited a view to have made some of the
more crucial observations. Also, it would be unrealistic to premise a
criminal prosecution solely on these witnesses, without, in some way,
reconciling the statements of the remaining witnesses. One of those
witnesses is Barry Henley, a seemingly credible, reliable witness,
whose testimony most strongly supports the theory that the shooting
was accidental. 

The witnesses who appear to have had a full opportunity to observe all
critical facts and whose testimony and statements, on their face, are
most consistent, are Officers Young and Clark. Even after considering
their possible law enforcement bias, Clark's personal friendship with
Larrigan and their arguable roles and experience as practiced
witnesses, the force of their testimony as defense witnesses would be
difficult to overcome in a criminal prosecution. More importantly,
when viewed in combination with the conflicts among the remaining
witnesses, there is a persistent concern as to what actually
transpired in the moments before Mitchell was shot. 

Based on an irresolvable conflict in the evidence, this office must
decline to institute any criminal proceedings in connection with this
matter. 

STEVE COOLEY 

District Attorney By 

SUSAN CHASWORTH Deputy District Attorney 

[NOTES] 

1 These four witnesses also claimed the attorney for the Mitchell
family represented them. According to a memorandum prepared by the
District Attorney's Professional Responsibility Unit addressing this
situation, there is a question of whether this "representation" is
illusory since no fees were paid and there is no basis for the
representation of independent percipient witnesses. 

2 These statements are inconsistent with the medical evidence in the
case, which indicates that Mitchell was facing Larrigan with the
officer slightly to her right when she was shot. 

3 Inspector General Jeffrey Eglash of the Los Angeles Police
Commission conducted interviews of witnesses Pamela Littky, Gary
Miller, Hamlet Andreyasyan, Wendi Potter and Officer Hope Young in
December of 1999. Transcripts of those interviews were provided to
Clifford Klein and James Cosper, respectively, the Head Deputy and
Assistant Head Deputy at that time of the Special Investigations
Division, which has since been supplanted by the Justice System
Integrity Division. Because those interviews may have incorporated
facts drawn from the statement provided by Officer Larrigan that was
privileged pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, those
transcripts were not provided to Deputy District Attorney Susan
Chasworth, the undersigned prosecutor who was assigned the task of
reviewing the facts of this incident. 

4 This office attempted to conduct voluntary, video-taped interviews
of all of these witnesses. Only witnesses Littky and Miller agreed to
this request. Officer Clark, through her attorney, refused to be
interviewed and the remaining witnesses, also through their attorneys,
would only consent to be interviewed if their attorneys could be
present. The attorney for witnesses Moody, Keaton, Leinert and Menick
was Leo Terrell. Although this office was willing to provide each
attorney with a copy of the video-tape of their client's interview,
the presence of attorneys, particularly one who had such a strong
interest in finding liability on the part of the involved officers,
could interfere with our ability to obtain. unbiased statements. Thus,
a Grand Jury investigative hearing was convened, to which these nine
non-cooperative witnesses were subpoenaed to testify. During the Grand
Jury hearing, witnesses Moody, Keaton, Menick and Leinert confirmed
that attorney Terrell was representing them in connection with the
Mitchell shooting and was doing so free of charge. 

5 Although Clark, and the other witnesses whose statements are
summarized herein, did not refer to the parties by name, for ease of
comprehension, the involved individuals, i.e., Officers Edward
Larrigan and Kathy Clark and Margaret Mitchell, will be referred to in
these witnesses' summaries and this analysis by name. 

6 This male was subsequently identified as James Moody. 

7 Apparently, Terrell received some information that Mitchell may have
pushed the cart toward the officers when they were at the intersection
of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue, and Larrigan pushed it back
toward her. The source of this information is unknown. 

8 To permit this office to conduct a comprehensive and candid analysis
of this matter, a court order was obtained allowing the disclosure of
portions of the Grand Jury testimony that are relevant to any factual
findings. Thus, where appropriate, this analysis will discuss
statements made by various witnesses during their Grand Jury
appearance. 

9 There is a popular training manual entitled, "The Tactical Edge –
Surviving High-Risk Patrol" first printed in 1986, which states that
any distance from a suspect armed with a knife of less than 21 feet is
dangerous, e.g., a suspect could reach the officer before the officer
had the opportunity to draw his weapon and deliver two rounds center
mass. This manual further states, "If he's holding a knife or other
weapon that extends his reach, like a club, expand your reactionary
gap to 21 feet or more. Have your sidearm pointed at him while you're
dealing with him." (emphasis in original). Although it is unclear what
specific formal training Larrigan received regarding handling suspects
armed with sharp-edged weapons, this standard of 21 feet is known by
many officers. In a June 2001 article in the magazine, The Police
Marksman entitled "Underestimating Edged Weapons", the same standard
is repeated, "[T]he effective range of edged weapons is much greater
than many officers realize: 21 feet or more if the officer's gun is
holstered, at least 15 feet if his weapon is unholstered and down at
his side, and 10 feet or more if the officer is holding the suspect at
gunpoint.". 

10 According to Clark, having one's gun in a "low-ready" position is
when the gun is unholstered and pointing downward. 

11 The phrase "drag-step" and "drag-stepping" was first mentioned by
Officer John Goines during his July 12, 2000, deposition, at which
time he described it as follows: "It's where you put one foot in front
of the other and slide the other one up. It's just to keep your
platform just in case you do have to shoot." Goines also mentioned
this during his January 31, 2001, Grand Jury testimony. Goines
testified that both Clark and Larrigan engaged in this activity as
they pursued Mitchell. 

12 This off-duty L.A.P.D. officer was subsequently identified as Hope
Young. 

13 This female minister[sic] was subsequently identified as Kelly
Page. 

14 This L.A.P.D. officer was subsequently identified as John Goines. 

15 The route Moody said he took to arrive at Fourth Street and La Brea
Avenue is incompatible with the geography of the streets. The L.A.P.D.
interviewer, however, did not follow-up on this discrepancy. 

16 Larrigan was 5'8" tall and, according to information Larrigan
supplied in October of 1999 on a firearms qualification form, he
weighed 160 pounds. 

17 It appeared from off-hand statements Moody made during this
interview, that Moody's wife may have also observed Mitchell
interacting with Larrigan and Clark. Moody, however, in this interview
said he had left his wife at a lamp store before the incident and, in
later interviews, adamantly denied that his wife was present.
Nonetheless, Moody made the following statements during his interview
with L.A.P.D.: "She's . . . hollering, 'You ain't no police.' The
first time she said that, I looked at her. I said, 'What is she
saying?' My wife said, 'She said he's not a police.' She laughed, and
I laughed. I said, 'That's right. I wonder what's wrong with her?' "
and; "[W]e were standing there, my wife and I, talking, and we looked
over and saw two officers and an old -- seemed like an old lady with a
street bag, one of those bag -- one of those baskets. She was pushing
it." 

18 It is unclear from Moody's interview statement, "they pulled me
over", whether he meant that the officers physically pulled him away
from the incident or that the officers would not allow him to drive
his vehicle away at some later time. 

19 None of the Police Commission interviews were reviewed in
connection with the preparation of this analysis. See footnote #3. 

20 The F.B.I. report does not indicate whether Young specifically used
the term "pushing", whether that word was supplied by Agent Stapleton
or whether Young, in any way, distinguished between "pushing" and
"pulling" during her interview. 

21 During his Grand Jury testimony Keaton said he also had his
deposition taken by his attorney, Terrell, shortly before he was
interviewed by the F.B.I., which he estimated to be in January of
2000. A transcript of this deposition was not provided to or reviewed
by this office. 

22 Along the exterior perimeter of the dealership showroom is a
platform, or ramp, several feet wide that runs parallel to the
sidewalk on the west side of La Brea Avenue, which continues west, and
runs parallel to the sidewalk on the south side of Fourth Street. It
is elevated several steps from the sidewalk and, displayed on the
platform, are vehicles for sale. 

23 Photographs taken shortly after the shooting show a convertible
parked at the southernmost part of the display platform. The southern
end of the platform is approximately eight feet north of the newspaper
stand. 

24 None of the Police Commission interviews were reviewed in
connection with the preparation of this analysis. See footnote #3. 

25 None of the Police Commission interviews were reviewed in
connection with the preparation of this analysis. See footnote #3. 

26 From all other accounts, including Goines' later statements, this
incident occurred at the southwest, rather than the northwest, corner
of Fourth Street and La Brea Avenue. 

27 Goines was very adamant about this correction to his L.A.P.D.
interview during this and all subsequent statements. Apparently,
during the pendency of the civil lawsuit, attorney Terrell stated to
the media that through his efforts two more percipient witnesses to
the shooting, namely, the motorist, Jon Menick, and his passenger,
Michael Leinert, were located, and he suggested that L.A.P.D. was
negligent in that L.A.P.D. personnel allowed crucial witnesses to
leave the scene. Goines' statement that he allowed the motorist to
leave before the police shooting, i.e., before they were witnesses to
possible police misconduct, could be a response to Terrell's
allegations. 

28 Menick was represented by attorney Terrell. According to L.A.P.D.
investigators, Terrell indicated that he interviewed Menick, as well
as Menick's passenger, Michael Leinert, but refused to provide copies
of these interviews to law enforcement. Thus, Menick's Grand Jury
testimony, and Leinert's, which follows, almost two years after the
incident, are the only records of their statements that have been
considered in the preparation of this analysis. 

29 During his testimony, Leinert referred to Mitchell by name. 

30 Before subpoenaing Page to the Grand Jury, efforts were made to
interview her informally at the offices of the District Attorney. Her
attorney, Elliot Abelson, adamantly refused to cooperate with such an
interview. He said this case had become a "circus" and a "hot potato",
and it was not in his client's best interests to give a statement.
When he was told that she would then be subpoenaed to testify before
the Grand Jury, Abelson said that he could "destroy her testimony"
because she was mentally unstable and lacked any credibility. He would
not elaborate further. Senior District Attorney Investigator Dennis
Louie had to make several attempts to serve Page with the Grand Jury
subpoena. The only address he could locate for Page, even after
searching Department of Motor Vehicle records, was the address of the
Scientology headquarters on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. When
Louie went to that address, the individual manning the entrance doors
would not allow Louie into the building and would not cooperate with
Louie's efforts to serve the subpoena. Page was eventually served at
the entrance to the Scientology headquarters after Louie explained to
Abelson that the District Attorney's Office insisted on subpoenaing
Page to the Grand Jury, and arrangements were made with Abelson to
meet Page at the entrance to the Scientology headquarters to effect
service. 

31 Officer Goines is of African-American descent and has dark hair. 

32 Pamela Littky also claimed that her car was the first car stopped
at the red light in the far right lane of southbound La Brea Avenue
when the incident took place. 

33 "CRASH" is the acronym for the L.A.P.D. program, "Community
Resources Against Street Hoodlums". 

34 According to L.A.P.D. investigators, the cart was pushed to the
west side of the sidewalk by the paramedics in order to have greater
access to Mitchell as they treated her. Afterwards, investigators
repositioned the cart on the sidewalk to approximate where it was when
the shot was fired, based on information provided to them by Officers
Clark and Larrigan. The above describes where the cart was
repositioned. 

35 As previously mentioned, Larrigan's statement to L.A.P.D. was not
reviewed in the preparation of this analysis, so the source of this
abrasion is not known. 

36 The report prepared by L.A.P.D. erroneously states that, on the
south, La Brea Avenue is bordered by Fifth Street. 

37 A copy of this citation was found among Mitchell's belongings.
Further, in the Release From Custody Report prepared for this arrest,
the bicycle officer making the arrest wrote that during the police
contact, Mitchell became very uncooperative with the officers. 

38 Naturally, inconsistencies among witnesses as to details are to be
expected and do not pose any serious concern. This is acknowledged in
CALJIC 2.21.1, which states, "Discrepancies in a witness's testimony
or between a witness's testimony and that of other witnesses, if there
were any, do not necessarily mean that a witness should be
discredited. Failure of recollection is common. Innocent
misrecollection is not uncommon. Two persons witnessing an incident or
a transaction often will see or hear it differently. You should
consider whether a discrepancy relates to an important matter or only
to something trivial." Of greater consequence are inconsistencies in
the evidence as to material facts. 

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