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Luis Humberto Armenta Espinoza

Age : 26

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 12/08/2023

Location : Century Boulevard near McKinley Avenue

City : Los Angeles

County : Los Angeles

State : California

Agency : Los Angeles Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian killed by police vehicle

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 12/08/2023, Luis Humberto Armenta Espinoza, 26, was killed when a Los Angeles Police Department officer driving a marked police SUV struck him as he crossed Century Boulevard near McKinley Avenue in South Los Angeles. Espinoza was transported to a hospital, where he died. LAPD subsequently released dash-camera and surveillance video showing the collision.
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The officer, a woman assigned to LAPD's Community Safety Partnership Bureau, was driving eastbound on Century Boulevard with the police vehicle's emergency lights activated. Espinoza was crossing southbound approximately 75 feet outside the marked crosswalk when the SUV struck him. Video shows the impact throwing Espinoza onto the windshield and then down the roadway.
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Although LAPD initially described the officer as driving with emergency equipment activated, subsequent reporting found that she was not responding to an emergency. Sources familiar with the investigation told the Los Angeles Times that she was instead running an errand for a member of a youth sports team affiliated with the department and was traveling at high speed.
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Then-LAPD Chief Michel Moore publicly said he had "very serious concerns" about the officer's driving leading up to the collision. LAPD opened both a Multi-Disciplinary Collision Investigation Team investigation and an Internal Affairs investigation, and the collision investigation was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for consideration of criminal charges.
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Espinoza's family subsequently filed a damages claim against the City of Los Angeles. Their attorneys alleged that the officer was improperly using the police vehicle's emergency lights despite not responding to an emergency and was speeding through the 35-mph zone.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
LAPD has not publicly disclosed the driver's name in the sources located. She was approximately 30 years old and assigned to the Community Safety Partnership Bureau at the time she killed Espinoza. Chief Michel Moore publicly questioned her driving, and LAPD initiated an Internal Affairs investigation.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/pedestrian-killed-in-officer-involved-traffic-collision-nrm019-23cm-mo/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-08/video-shows-moment-officer-hits-pedestrian-with-car-in-south-los-angeles
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-12/chief-moore-cites-serious-concerns-about-lapd-officer-who-killed-pedestrian-while-driving-police-cruiser
https://abc7.com/post/lapd-deadly-crash-pedestrian-killed-dashcam-video/14295909/
https://lbpost.com/news/family-of-long-beach-fatally-struck-by-police-cruiser-files-legal-claim-against-lapd/