Officer-Involved-Shooting in Central Area NR23008

UPDATE

The officers involved in the below incident have been identified as Police Sergeant I Hugo Alonzo, Serial No. 36787 and Police Officer II Christopher Aboyte, Serial No. 44415, both officers are assigned to Central Area.

Downtown Los Santos: Los Santos Police Department's (LSPD) Force Investigation Division is investigating an Officer-Involved Shooting in Central Area.

On March 30, 2023, around 11:32 p.m., Central Area uniform patrol officers responded to a radio call regarding a homeless male that had attempted to steal a 'Small Street Sweeper' from the Premium Deluxe Motorsport (PDM), on Adam's Apple Boulevard. Officer's arrived on scene and made contact with the homeless male, later identified as Mari Gutierez, wearing a long coat & a large backpack containing camping equipment. The Person Reporting (PR) on-scene identified Gutierez as the suspect who had attempted to steal the street sweeper.  Officers requested Gutierez to place his hands on his head and informed him he was being detained, Gutierez did not comply with the officer's orders & began to back away from them. On-scene officers drew their tasers, at which point Gutierez brandished a knife - Officers requested backup and a supervisor. 

Additional officers arrived on scene, with Gutierez standing in the center of Power Street. Gutierez repeatedly ignored officer's commands to drop the knife and kept repeating the phrase "Kill me" to officers. Officers made use of a less-than-lethal beanbag shotgun, hitting Gutierez a total of 7 times, all to no avail. Gutierez fled on foot, leading officers on a short foot pursuit south-bound on Power Street, before stopping at the cross-road with Adam's Apple Boulevard. Gutierez turned to face officers and charged towards them with the knife, a beanbag round was deployed but missed, resulting in an OIS. Gutierez was struck by gunfire and taken into custody. Los Santos Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and transported Gutierez to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No officers were injured during this incident. 

LSPD's specialized Force Investigation Division responded to the scene and interviewed witnesses and supervised the collection of evidence by the Forensic Science Division. The complete investigation will be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Board of Police Commissioners and the Office of the Inspector General to determine the thoroughness and accuracy of the investigation and whether the use of deadly force complied with LSPD's policies and procedures.