Civil rights activists prompt call for Police shootings probe

Civil rights activists have called for an investigation of police shootings in a Los Angeles-area city where four people have been killed since May.

The latest was Sunday when a 56-year-old homeless man was killed by Inglewood officers who said he appeared to be armed and refused orders to raise his hands, the Los Angeles Times reported. The gun tucked into Eddie Felix Franco’s waistband proved to be a toy.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Roundtable, spoke Monday at the place where Franco was killed.

“This is a small city,” Hutchinson said. “It has a small police department, and when you have this number of shootings in such a short period of time, that just leaves so many questions.”

In May, a 19-year-old man was killed and two other young men wounded by police officers who mistakenly thought they had weapons. In July, police fatally shot a 23-year-old alleged gang member and, in a separate incident, killed a 38-year-old man who allegedly pointed a gun at officers responding to a call about a domestic dispute.

The shootings are being investigated by the Office of Independent Review, a county agency, but Hutchinson and others want a federal investigation.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc.

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