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Dionicio Baten Ajanel

Age : 31

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 09/03/2021

Location : West 6th Street and South Wilton Place

City : Los Angeles

County : Los Angeles

State : California

Agency : Los Angeles Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Human-trafficking investigation. LAPD Hollywood Division vice officers were conducting an undercover human-trafficking operation near Melrose Avenue and Western Avenue when they observed a black Mercedes-Benz drop off a woman whom police believed was being trafficked. Vice officers attempted to stop the Mercedes, but police said the driver continued driving away and officers pursued.

EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 09/03/2021, 31-year-old Dionicio Baten Ajanel of Los Angeles was killed when a Mercedes-Benz being pursued by Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Division vice officers crashed into his vehicle at West 6th Street and South Wilton Place in Koreatown.

The encounter began shortly before 11:00 a.m. while Hollywood Division vice officers were conducting an undercover human-trafficking investigation near Melrose and Western avenues. Police said officers observed a black Mercedes drop off a woman they believed was being trafficked. The officers attempted to stop the Mercedes in connection with that investigation.

Police said the Mercedes accelerated away and the vice officers pursued. The chase traveled south from the Hollywood area toward Koreatown and lasted approximately two minutes. Available public reporting does not provide a documented maximum speed, total pursuit distance, or the following distance between the pursuing police vehicle and the Mercedes immediately before the collision.

The pursuit reached the area of West 6th Street and South Wilton Place. Police said the Mercedes was traveling south on Wilton Place when it entered the intersection and collided with another vehicle traveling west on 6th Street.

The force of that collision sent the Mercedes into Baten Ajanel's vehicle. Baten Ajanel was an uninvolved motorist and had no connection to the human-trafficking investigation or the people police were pursuing. He suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. Another uninvolved motorist was injured and hospitalized but survived.

The Mercedes was severely damaged in the collision. Two men inside were taken into custody and transported to hospitals for treatment. Police subsequently identified them as brothers Keith Sparrow, 21, and Julian Sparrow, 22, both of Los Angeles. Investigators initially said they had not determined which brother had been driving the Mercedes.

The two men were booked on suspicion of human trafficking. Both were subsequently released on bail while the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office considered charges arising from the fatal collision. Contemporary reporting indicated that investigators were also considering potential homicide charges related to Baten Ajanel's death.

No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact with the Mercedes immediately before the fatal collision was publicly reported.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner subsequently identified the man killed in the crash as Dionicio Baten Ajanel, 31, of Los Angeles. Public reporting about the pursuit provides little biographical information about Baten Ajanel beyond his age and residence. He was simply driving through Koreatown when the police pursuit entered the intersection and the crash killed him.

LAPD's Multi-Disciplinary Collision Investigation Team investigated the fatal pursuit crash. Detective Mo Hassanzi was publicly identified as an investigator assigned to the case. Hassanzi was not identified as one of the officers who participated in the pursuit.

OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The LAPD Hollywood Division Vice Unit officer or officers who attempted to stop the Mercedes and initiated the pursuit have not been publicly identified. LAPD personnel publicly associated with the investigation or media response included Detective Mo Hassanzi, Lt. Rex Ingram, Sgt. Bruce Borihanh, Capt. Brett McGuire, Officer Tony Im and Officer Jeff Lee; none was publicly identified as the officer driving the pursuing police vehicle. No officer name has been placed in the Officer(s) field without evidence establishing actual participation in the pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-03/lapd-pursuit-crash-involving-human-trafficking-suspects-kills-uninvolved-motorist-in-koreatown
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/innocent-man-killed-3-hurt-after-pursuit-ends-in-violent-crash-in-koreatown/
https://abc7.com/post/chase-koreatown-crash-human-trafficking/10995879/
https://beverlypress.com/2021/09/man-killed-after-suspects-fleeing-police-crash/