WHITTIER >> One officer was killed and another injured in a shootout Monday with a 26-year-old suspected gang member who may have been involved in a separate homicide in East Los Angeles, authorities said.
Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper identified the deceased officer as 28-year-veteran Keith Boyer, of Whittier, and the wounded officer as Patrick Hazell, also of Whittier.
“Keith was very humble, he was always smiling, positive, energetic and intelligent,” Piper said. He broke into tears. “He was the best of the best.”
Hazell, who has been with the department for three years, was in stable condition at the UCI Medical Center, said Lt. John Corina, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau. The suspect, who has not been identified, is a known gang member and was released on parole about a week ago, authorities said. He is also a suspect in a homicide that occurred a few hours earlier in East Los Angeles.
Corina said the suspect, who was transported to LA County-USC Medical Center, was expected to live.
The officers were responding to a traffic collision around 8 a.m. in the area of Mar Vista and Colima Road when the shooting occurred, authorities said.
Corina told reporters at the scene the suspect had crashed a stolen vehicle into two other vehicles while traveling southbound on Colima. The drivers of the other vehicles had helped the suspect push his vehicle around the corner onto Mar Vista before officers arrived.
When officers did arrive, they turned the corner to talk to the suspect who immediately opened fire, striking both officers. They returned fire, striking the suspect.
The officers “were just responding to a report of an accident,” Corina said during an afternoon press briefing. “The next thing they knew, they were in a gun fight.
“Now we have a dead police officer.”
Police Chief’s Emotional Plea
While talking about the case at a press conference at the city’s Police Memorial, authorities attributed the homicide to AB 109, a state law mandating early prison releases, and Proposition 47, which turned some felony offenses to misdemeanors.
AB 109 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011 and Prop 47 was approved by voters in 2014.
“We need to wake up. Enough is enough. You’re passing these propositions, you’re creating these laws. … It’s not good for our community (and) it’s not good for our officers,” Piper said. “You have no idea how it’s changed in the last four years. We have statistics to show it.”
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Corina said he did not know why the suspect was released or what his prior charges were, saying investigators still needed to talk to his probation officer.
A Separate Homicide Connection?
Corina said the vehicle the suspect was driving when he crashed in Whittier was reported stolen from East Los Angeles, where at about 5:29 a.m. a man was shot to death in the 1400 block of Volney Drive, according to sheriff’s officials.
Witnesses to the East Los Angeles shooting have identified the suspect in the Whittier shooting as the suspect who shot and killed the victim, Corina said. The suspect stole the vehicle from that victim’s residence, Corina said, adding that the victim was a relative of the suspect.
No further information about the East Los Angeles incident was provided.
A Father Near Retirement
Boyer, a father and grandfather, was a couple years away from retirement, said Jeff McNeal, his friend and bandmate.
“He was genuinely the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet and he had a great joy of performing music and bringing smiles to people,” said McNeal, the lead vocalist and founder of the Temecula rock band Mrs. Jones’ Revenge. “He was proud of the work that he did and we were proud of the work that he did both on and off the stage.”
McNeal said Boyer was a lifelong resident of Whittier. The two met several years ago through a mutual friend and in 2014, when the band was in need of a drummer, McNeal gave Boyer a call.
“He was an exceptional musician,” McNeal said. “When he joined our band, he elevated us to a new level that wouldn’t have been possible. His skill was such that we were able to play more challenging, more difficult songs.”
Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said Boyer was the third in the city’s history to be killed in the line of duty. The city of about 85,000 has a force of 128 sworn officers. The department also serves Santa Fe Springs.
A vigil for the officers was scheduled for 6 p.m. at the city’s Police Memorial.
“Two of our family members have been shot and one of them has passed away,” said Councilman Fernando Dutra. “We are in mourning and in prayer for them and the families. We’re focusing on what we need to do to support the families and all of the police officers.”
In a statement, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the city of Whittier, said she was heartbroken over the death of the officer.
“It is a tragic reminder that every day, police officers risk their own lives to protect and serve their communities,” Hahn said in the statement. “My heart is with the family of this fallen officer and his colleagues in the Whittier Police Department as they grieve the loss of one of their own and as we continue to pray for the recovery of the officer who was wounded in this morning’s incident.”
Staff writers Josh Cain, Sandra Molina and Mike Sprague and photographer Keith Durflinger contributed to this report.
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