Officers shot Mario Sanchez during a traffic stop after they said he pulled something out of his waistband and pointed it at officers. It was a cellphone.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside a Southeast LAPD substation Friday morning demanding answers into the police shooting death of 35-year-old Mario Sanchez.Shaky cellphone video of the March 14 incident was posted publicly to social media by a group called "Community Control Police.
"During a traffic stop on Imperial Highway east of Broadway, Sanchez can be seen on video exiting a red car then walking. Officers then shoot him, and he falls to the ground."He was killed by the LAPD," said Evelyn Sanchez, Mario’s sister. "He was shot several times. It was supposed to be a traffic stop. It turned into him being murdered.""We had just saw him that night," said Mirca Sanchez, Mario’s sister. "He went to go eat with my mom and he was okay. He was on his way home, and then he got pulled over."SUGGESTED: South LA deadly morning shooting under investigation"He did follow the orders," said Evelyn. "My brother got out of the car, he had his hands up, and they shot him. He did follow the orders.""My brother is innocent," said Mirca. "You guys can see for yourself on the video. He put his hands up. A lot of people are heartbroken because of that."LAPD sent out a press release two days following the officer-involved shooting.According to the LAPD press release, Sanchez was pulled over for "erratic driving." During the traffic stop, LAPD claims police told Sanchez to lower his windows and place his hands outside the car, but he "yelled profanity at the officers." Then, LAPD alleges that as Sanchez got out of the car facing police, he "removed a dark object from his waistband area and quickly pointed it at them," resulting in an officer-involved shooting. According to the press release, the object was "later determined to be a cellphone.""We want all of them to be held accountable," said Evelyn. "Simply, one of them could have made the situation de-escalated, but they didn’t."LAPD policy requires them to release information and body camera video within 30 days of an officer-involved shooting."My kids loved him," said Mirca. "Now, my daughter, she’s like "Where’s Mario? Where’s Tio?" I don’t know what to tell her."
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