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Activist group issues statement on fatal deputy-involved shooting

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Leroy Browning, 30, of Palmdale, was transported to the hospital after a deputy-involved shooting that happened around 3 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, outside the Taco Bell on the 37900 block of 47th Street East in Palmdale. [LUIS MEZA]
Leroy Browning, 30, of Palmdale, was transported to the hospital after a deputy-involved shooting that happened around 3 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, outside the Taco Bell on the 37900 block of 47th Street East in Palmdale. [LUIS MEZA]
Leroy Browning [image via gofundme]
Leroy Browning [image via gofundme]
PALMDALE — The Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council — a coalition of local civil rights activists led by former Lancaster mayor Henry Hearns — has issued a statement regarding the fatal deputy-involved shooting Dec. 20 in Palmdale.

Leroy Browning, 30, of Palmdale, died at the hospital following a 3 a.m. shooting outside the Taco Bell on the 37900 block of 47th Street East.

“We trust in [Palmdale Sheriff’s Station] Captain Ford’s leadership and integrity that a thorough, honest and fair investigation will take place regarding the death of Mr. Browning,” reads the statement from the Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council. Read the full statement below or view it here:

Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council Statement on African-American Male Killed by Sheriff Deputy in Palmdale, California

The African-American Leadership Council is deeply concerned about the untimely death of Mr. Leroy Browning, who was shot and killed on Sunday, December 20, 2015, at Taco Bell, by a Sheriff Deputy in Palmdale, California.

“We have reached out to the family of Mr. Browning and our heart and prayers go out to his family during this most difficult time,” said Bishop Henry Hearns, Chair of the Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council (AV-AALC).

Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council shown at a press conference in 2014. [file]
The Antelope Valley African-American Leadership Council, shown at a press conference in 2014. [file]
With the recent police shootings taking place across the nation in the African-American community, we are rightly concerned about any police shooting taking place in our own backyard—Palmdale.

While we understand and appreciate the risks our Sheriff Deputies take every day in policing our community, we are equally concerned with respect to how that policing is administered.

We have been in contact with Captain Don Ford from the Palmdale Sheriff Station, and will be following this matter with great detail and interest. The taking of anyone’s life is precious and valuable. Despite the circumstances under which Mr. Browning died, his life was valuable and precious and his death will not be dismissed as a simple shooting and fatality without a thorough investigation and follow-through from our community leaders.

We trust in Captain Ford’s leadership and integrity that a thorough, honest and fair investigation will take place regarding the death of Mr. Browning.

The African-American Leadership Council will continue to monitor this case closely to ensure that justice and fairness prevail and that the family of Mr. Browning receive a full understanding of why and how he died.

We ask the community to keep the family in prayer and to maintain peace as we investigate this matter.

Leroy Browning was killed in a deputy-involved shooting that occurred after his vehicle crashed near the Taco Bell drive-through.

Deputies were dispatched to the fast-food restaurant on a report that a motorist appeared to be unconscious after a vehicle crashed, according to Deputy Crystal Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

“When deputies arrived, they made contact with the suspect/driver, and based on initial observations, they began to conduct a driving under the influence investigation,” Hernandez said in a sheriff’s press release.

Browning was placed in the rear of a patrol car, and deputies then decided to place him under arrest, Hernandez said. When they tried to handcuff him, he jumped out of the patrol car and began fighting with a deputy, Hernandez said.

“Other deputies came to the deputy’s aid as the fight was taken to the ground,” Hernandez said.

“At some point during the fight, the suspect grabbed (hold) of the deputy’s weapon,” Hernandez said. “The deputy immediately attempted to retain his weapon while he advised the other deputies that the suspect was trying to remove his weapon.

“The deputies attempted to subdue the suspect, to no avail, as the suspect refused to relinquish his grasp on the deputy’s weapon,” Hernandez said.

“Fearing the suspect was a threat and danger to himself, the deputies, and others, a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” Hernandez said.

Browning was wounded and was taken to a hospital, where he died. The deputies were treated for cuts, bruises, and abrasions, Hernandez said.

“During the course of their investigation, detectives located a blue- steel pistol and a large baggie of marijuana located inside the suspect’s vehicle,” Hernandez said.

At the time of the shooting, Browning was wanted on a warrant stemming from a home-invasion robbery in which a victim was shot, according to the sheriff’s department.

Previous related stories:

Man killed in deputy-involved shooting in Palmdale

Hearns introduces AV African American Leadership Council

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181 comments for "Activist group issues statement on fatal deputy-involved shooting"

  1. Note to dirtbags: if you’re driving high and crash into Taco Bell, when the cops show up, don’t try to grab their gun.

    • [removed] you where not there and the police use that line all the time.#he’sreachingfor mygun

      • Note to activist groups… Marching around isn’t working. It’s kind of a joke at this point and seems really hypocritical when you turn it up special for them rare killing that isn’t black on black. People are aware of the violence in the streets and who is responsible and their main concern is not the police and how to make their jobs more difficult.

  3. It is difficult for anyone to be able to prove wrongdoing by a peace officer just by someone saying “show me the proof.” Peace officers are protected from their past employment conduct information being arbitrarily put out there. Peace officers for the most part, will not openly tell on themselves nor will their fellow officers (for the most part) tell on them (Code of Silence).
    Has bad/illegal conduct been perpetrated in the past by members of law enforcement in the past (LAPD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal )? Have members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (Leroy Baca and Paul Tanaka) been accused of wrong doing? (http://abc7.com/news/investigation-did-sheriff-lee-bacas-fury-push-deputies-to-break-the-law/707924/) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tanaka)
    Many lay people who are arrested and charged for offenses they adamantly insist they did not commit (innocent until proven guilty) have little recourse to prove that they are innocent of the allegations as it then becomes their word against that of Law Enforcement officers which will most likely seal their fate before a jury, with a guilty conviction or feel they must take a plea deal to keep from doing many years in state prison. How sad and devastating to a truly innocent person and their loved ones, family.
    For those of you willing to take a research ride through memory lane look up on Wikipedia “Pitchess motion” via the link below. It is self explanatory and shows how peace officers past employment conduct and history can be accessed through the attorney of record for the defendant. This is when the reality of the character of the officer(s) involved can now be exposed. The story you will read started when Peter Pitches was the Los Angeles County Sheriff many years ago. Any knowledgeable and credible criminal defense attorney should give their client their best opportunity to be exonerated. A Pitches motion can show the true past conduct of those officers involved. The irony in this, for me, was why Sheriff Pitches fought the court to keep such exculpatory evidence from the defendant? Where is the honesty and integrity in that? The people of the State of California and the County of Los Angeles deserve better, especially the innocent. Yes, we expect the best from those that are supposed to protect and serve us, the people. I get it that some people are fallible but they should never destroy another’s reputation and/or life to cover up their own negative conduct. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchess_motion)

    The following case has disturbed me for the last 2 ½ years and this is why. Deputies received information from a confidential informant regarding drugs at a residence in Littlerock. It is my guestimate that the deputies failed to do their due diligence to follow up on the tip by verifying via surveillance of the residence, the comings and goings of drug users/sellers and other activities confirming the information. The Deputy’s got a judge to sign a search warrant and conducted the early morning raid and its deadly outcome. I feel for the judge who signed the search warrant, because what was signed turned out to be a death sentence, realizing too late the reality of the deputy’s failure to do their sworn duty. Their actions caused the loss of life of another human being. The deputy’s failed to do their due diligence in confirming whether the information given by the confidential informant was accurate or not. The victim’s death, caused by the deputy’s shall forever live in their minds. This was not justice or service to the people of the community. I expect a multimillion dollar settlement by the Sheriff’s Department and the County of Los Angeles tax payers to his family for this devastating failure and homicide of an innocent man, rest in peace Eugene. http://www.bergenerlaw.com/los-angeles-sheriffs-deputies-shoot-elderly-man-in-his-bed/

  4. I loathe the Antelope Valley on every single level possible. Not a single redeemable quality to life in AV. AV is the only place I ever had an Cop stick a gun in my face in the middle of the day because I was riding a bicycle.

  5. What makes the most sense and is usually correct is the most logical conclusion. It follows logically that the police came upon this young man after he got in a car accident, accident people, accidents happen to everyone. Then the police shot and killed him, claimed he tried to grab their gun and was fighting them, and then they planted the drugs and gun at the scene. Why would he fight the police, and how could he weighing only 135 pounds. No, the obvious conclusion is that this was a murder and framed scene.

    • The first thing I thought of was if he had a bag of weed, he would be home smoking on it with no interest in leaving.

  7. 1st of all the guy shouldn’t of been shot. sounds like he had a concussion from the accident. But if I was a cop and you do not comply and i feel my life is at risk I plan on going home. by all means necessary.This story has a lot of questions. Do I think cops shot first and ask later? Yes! Do I think its wrong? Yes. Now no matter how much we would like that to change. We need to either learn to COMPLY. Fight it later in court. Do we as people have right! accept the answer as NO!!! Why because we have so many laws these days,The cops can’t keep track. Who’s fault is it? Ours the people who keep thinking we need more. You need to also understand the cops deal with lowest of the low. The scan less of scan-less! they hear lies day in and day out. they see shit we only watch in movies. Do they trust the people Hell no . We need to change their thoughts We need to be better humans. Race has nothing to do it with. Actions do. If you rush a cop what the hell do you really expect to happen!!! Really. Come on people wake the f!*k up. Stop trying to put all this on race and start accepting responsibility for ones actions. now if he would of ran over some kid. how would the reaction of the people be? well when you struggle with a cop. I can promise you ,you ARE NOT GOING TO WIN!!!! get it together and stop all this fussing and learn to act right and comply… bottom line COMPLY … cops think this way for a reason. change their thinking by changing your actions. if they feel there is not a threat , You may go home or to jail but not to the morgue!!!!

    • You seem to have confidence that compliance will keep you safe…which may work for you. I always wonder though, if you were faced with a cop from a department with a history of questionable shootings of people who looked like you, who seemed like he was over the edge and might very well just shoot you, would you “grab for his gun” if he started to pull it out? Or would you stand there and hope he was just pulling it out to intimidate you and wasn’t going to shoot?

      • I have an arrest record, each time I get stopped there are not weapons, no fight. I have faced cops for years out here. Not once have I been beaten, shot, or even roughed up. Guess why……I don’t resist, I do exactly what I’m told and fight later in court. What do you know, I’m alive and unharmed. The cops don’t just walk around shooting people or drawing guns in your face. Dang imagine that….

        • Yeah, sure, you “fight later in court.” Let me know when the case comes up and your public defender is going to present your word against a cop’s word. I always enjoy sitting in the gallery and watching a good absurdist comedy.

          • When was the last time you had a run in with an officer? When was the last time you were arrested?

          • Define “run in.”

            The reason I know your “fight later in court” idea is a bad one is because I sat in court a few years ago and watched a cop perjure himself to make a traffic ticket stick. The judge could see that logically the cop was probably lying, but his response was “The deputy is a trained observer and you are not. When testimony conflicts I have to go with the deputy’s account as the truth. Now, is it possible that you may have just missed something?” In other words; if you two can’t match up your stories I’m going to have to say somebody perjured themselves, and it is going to be you. Since I had no desire to add a perjury charge to my traffic ticket I agreed that I could have been mistaken and went my way.

            Cops will perjure themselves over a traffic fine. Judges know that charging a cop with perjury would cause a huge problem, so unless you can bring recordings that are iron clad irrefutable a cop can give absolutely ridiculous testimony and have it accepted as the “true accounting of events.”

            And you talk about how “you just fight later in court.” You get internet access in prison?

    • LASD Lancaster deputies are sent up here because of their misconduct down below. Last chance for them.

      • And it shows. It may be that the recent gross levels of misconduct, and the ensuing federal attention leading to the dispatching of the sheriff, will prompt the new sheriff to want to keep his misfits down there where he can watch them and the feds are less attentive.

        • Tim, you and others like Swamper have spewed this particular nonsense (along with the REST of your BS),for a long time. I challenge you to provide the name of at least one deputy who was transferred to either of our local stations for disciplinary reasons. Sitting around the lib table and repeating the same lie doesn’t make it true. I’m waiting.

          • If you had any intelligence at all before putting your foot in your mouth you would have done an FOIA request. But no, you’re not that smart.

          • Sorry dude, I only know one deputy by name, and he is that exceedingly rare thing, a good one. So, no, I won’t be providing any names.

            However, if you don’t believe that “transfer to AV has been used as a disciplinary threat in the sheriff’s department, next time you are leg riding one of your deputy friends go ahead and ask.

          • LOL… Exactly as I suspected Timmy! You have made the ridiculous statement many times on this site, not me. I asked you, or any of your cronies here to name even ONE deputy,and you can’t. You try to put it back on me to disprove your lies? Classic coward. Ask your buddy, the “rare good deputy” for a name. Ask your other buddy, the captain of Palmdale, for a name. You’ve been exposed Timmy!

          • So the answer is that you have zero proof and either heard it somewhere or made it up? Wow. I guess reality check kind of checkmated right there. Good work reality check.

          • Yeah Flint, I “heard it somewhere.” Does that mean the source is unreliable? Not necessarily. I don’t take anything I hear from you seriously, but that doesn’t make everyone an uninformed idiot that should be ignored.

            Hey, what happened to your pal, Billandtimsbiggestfan? Haven’t seen that clown around in a while…since right about the time you showed up, as a matter of fact.

          • Tim,
            I get it that you lash out when you get owned, but reality check pretty well slammed the door shut on your claims about the AV department. You have said that kind of stuff a lot and it turns out you heard it somewhere and have no source at all. That’s just lazy. I do think that if you know what you believe it becomes easier to figure out the truth. You demonstrate that.

          • You demonstrate that you have no interests beyond me, Flint. But I don’t think any less of you for that. Actually, come to think of it, I couldn’t think any less of you. How about you provide an opinion on SOMETHING, in fact ANYTHING, other than me, just once.

            As to me, “lashing out” that was about the extent of it. There isn’t really anything else I can do about being the focus of your attentions, and since pointing out how ridiculous your fixations are doesn’t seem to phase you at all I’ll just keep doing that.

          • Reality check,
            When Tim says you all only think about me, what I hear is “I don’t want to talk about my claims that the AV police are cast offs from lapd.” Kudos to you reality. When people start talking about how everyone is obsessed with them instead of the specific issues and questions raised, you know they are running scared.

          • realitycheck, you are right. Most of the Sherrif department are locals who live up here. I have several friends who are in the department. Tim Scott I know more than one deputy by name and they are all good ones! It’s the left that hate law enforcement. They side with the criminals.

          • W…deputies who get transferred up here move up here, so that might make them “locals.”

            When you say the deputies you know are all “good ones,” what exactly do you mean?

            Do you mean that they wouldn’t shoot an unarmed guy walking down the street just for kicks, even though they could probably get away with it? I am more than willing, if that is the standard, to say there are probably 100% good deputies.

            But if you mean that they would never take a shortcut on procedure and if it blew up in their face and they ended up having to shoot their way out they would acknowledge that their mistake cost a life that percentage would drop. I think a great many of them would stand on “good shoot all the way,” and swear to it for their brother officers as well. Since that doesn’t fit my standards I don’t say “all deputies are good,” or even that most of them are.

        • Still waiting for those names. Timothy?…… Swamper?…….. Anyone?….. Bueller? That’s what I thought.

          • No names, just vague and slanderous rumors and probably some 2nd hand conversations and an uncited article from a newspaper that told all about it. It would be nice to know one name of an officer that was specifically transferred here because he was a problem. I know! It was rampart! All the rampart officers were transferred here! Can’t name any of them off hand. I think one was named Steve or Stanley?

          • @realitycheck… As one individual who faced City of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, Lee D’Errico Public Safety Manager and LASD Law Enforcement in two trials in 2012 I know only too well about the misconduct of all the above through our investigations with paperwork. They are all LIARS, got caught in trial before two juries and shamed the system.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhgChEQsLs

          • Realitycheck, there’s not enough room for me to list all the deputies sent up here to Lancaster for misconduct. Do you have an email address?

          • Swamped,

            You’ve taken a lot of effort to compile these public records. In addition to just one name posted here, send the file to flintjunk44 at hotmail. It’s good that you got this public information and are sharing with the public.

          • What’s the matter RealityCheck? Don’t want to receive detailed information that might conflict with your comfortable world view? Much better to get a single name that can be explained away or ignored, Am-I-Rite?

          • There are too many dirty deputies to list. Ones would be that let a man die in the floods. It hurt our hearts to dug him out.

          • A lot of it started when Rex declared war on Section 8. His war statement created a mindset that came from his misguided, hateful, racist tendencies. It has left a scar on this valley that will heal when he leaves.

          • The comment was censored but shouldn’t have been. I merely was pointing out that your reports are not proof that deputies are transferred here for misconduct.

      • Wait a second. A deputy screws up because of misconduct and the disciplinary action is that as a last chance he gets to drive against commuter traffic and he also gets to beat, harass, intimidate and kill these poor innocent people here in the Wild West AV and the LASD covers it up and promotes them?

        Sounds like that makes sense…

    • This guy did comply. He didn’t resist at all and they murdered him and then planted drugs. Happens all the time.

    • Know your facts. Actions ACTIONS your right about paying attention to actions. Laquan Mcdonald 17 Year’s old shot at 16 times and he walking away from from the cops in Chicago. His actions definitely wasn’t looked at. If so walking away. This is a racial matter why not use a taser /bing bang pellets. Whites get tased all day long high on meth and more they should people in fear. No telling what there plotting.

  8. Did anyone see the march yesterday? Leading the way was homophobe and anti-Semite Stan Muhammad. Word to the wise: if you want your group or message about racism to be taken seriously, do not have a known homophobe and Jewish hating person as your spokesman. It’s hypocritical. It’s very much like flying around the country in your fossil fuel powered private airplane speaking out against the evils of fossil fuels, then returning home to your huge fossil fuel powered mansions. People see through that.

    • No comparison. That huge fossil fuel powered mansion is now Leed Certified as among the most energy efficient buildings in the country. That was a hot Talking Point when he first moved into it, and though he tried snapping his fingers, the contractor said it would take over a year to do so much. Regardless, it got done.

      • Pullleeeesse! His two fossil fuel powered mansions still use fossil fuels LEED cerified or not. As does his Audi, his illegally purchased suing factory, and his private plane. Even the planes his wife tries to board with pistols and he lies about are run by fossil fuels.

    • Not only does Rex support Stan Muhammed, he also sent out political mailers that called African American city council candidate who is a military serviceman a gang candidate. Can anyone say racist?

  9. To those attempting to connect “suspect” with “guilty”, as far as I can remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. He was “wanted” doesn’t equate to he was “convicted”. Once again, to presume he was something without the law stipulating he was, is surely a matter of your subjective opinion. The story was written poorly. It is the responsibility of the story teller to pursue the neutral ground. In this case, the story teller decided to offer up information which was only known after the fact. And unfortunately, due to the herd-mentality of thinking, your opinions are what is expected.

    As you are entitled to your opinion, others are entitled to theirs. With the recent spate of shootings and with the initial statements of officers coming under scrutiny after video tapes surfacing disputing their statements, those who are adamant about supporting the establishment should be reserved. To those who grew up in a certain environment in society, “he was attempting to grab control of my service revolver ” equated to “there is some questions to rather I am justified in killing him “. After all, that statement is irrelevant if you justified. The truth stands on it’s on! That statement is an addition used to placate those who thrive on believing in the illusion.

    Humbly, that’s my opinion.

    • I just wonder if there’s not a reverse rush to judgement in which officers are always guilty and the suspect is always innocent, as long as the victim is a minority. If the person shot is white then it’s probably justified, but no minority is ever dangerous and creates a violent and volatile situation. Look at the young man in missouri. People just made things up to try to frame the officer. It creates a division when one side refuses to believe officers under any circumstance, the other side will emerge as apologists, or vice versa.

      • At least on my part, there is not a reverse rush to judgment. I never stipulated the deputy was guilty of anything. I merely pointed out that individuals need to resist condemnation until a official report is issued and a level of scrutiny needs to be applied contingent and as a result of the recent incident which forced authorities in other jurisdictions to seek criminal charges against other officers for falsification of documents/statements. Since you bring up white vs black shootings – let’s discuss the recent events which occurred in the state of Colorado. Here you have a white guy go into Planned Parenthood facility, kill 3 or 4 people – shoot an officer, and he lives to experience a trial by jury. In regards to the recent black shootings, no black has killed anyone nor has any officer/deputy been shot. All Blacks lost their lives. There is incentive to be suspicious and implied reverse judgment could be in effect.

        • The police were firing on the planned parenthood killer but didn’t hit him. I’d be confident in arguing that the police will kill white people too if they feel their life is in danger. What I’d like to see happen, and it’s something that would help solve societal problems, is that I think liberal white progressives should move their families into urban inner city neighborhoods. If that were to happen, the communities would benefit greatly. Why not start now? There are great opportunities in east Lancaster and east Palmdale. Instead of talking about how great your suburb is and its token minority families, why not be the change that you believe in and move into a community that needs more high income, highly educated families to create a thriving middle class. Crime and gun violence in these neighborhoods is really just a manifest of the over aggressive policing and I’m sure your new neighborhood will be calm and peaceful all the night through.

  10. Let’s all be educated and make use of the little common sense you have. I don’t condone crime, but I won’t say what crime is considering everyone unknowingly takes part in it. Besides that nonsense, I have never ever in my years encountered or have even heard of anyone committing a crime such as a dui, assault, etc. and not being arrested as soon as Palmdale sheriff show.
    So first off these sheriff need better education and a better understand of how to do their job, period. If you want evidence take account the numerous acts of stupidity they’ve been shaming themselves over. If he did as they supposedly say, then you know you didn’t follow protocol if you “just” sat him in the back of the cop car. After encountering the suspect on what appears to be multiple felony charges the first thing they should have done was handcuffed him. Now if I know these cops here better than the back of my hand, there’s no way that they wouldn’t handcuff even the most harmless bum before questioning him.
    Of course everyone will justify acts of idiocrocy with sophisticated slurs, but the fact that you have to justify someone’s action shows where they went wrong.

    • That is just idiotic for cops to immediately arrest someone without conducting an investigation and it’s violating someone’s rights. Cops are not going to arrest someone without conducting an investigation. Some people need to be better educated and understand how cops do their jobs, period. I assume when someone is detained for a DUI investigation, they are normally sat in the backseat without being handcuffed because the cops still need to do the sobriety tests and they are only being detained and not arrested. Multiple felony charges? A DUI is a misdemeanor! I agree that they should handcuff him when he posses a danger, like having an outstanding warrant for home invasion and shooting the home owner. I assume they didn’t find out of the warrant until after they sat him in the backseat and found out his name. According to the news articles, he fought and got out of the car when they were going to handcuff him. As a law school project, I research the AV’s DOJ decision which could be downloaded from their websites and it spoke about cops up here placing people in the backseat handcuffed. Since the sheriff stations uphere are under the DOJ review then it would be safe to assume they changed their ways of handcuffing detained people or placing them in their back seats. Driving up here in the AV I’ve seen a lot more people sitting on the curb unhancuffed and not in the backseat because the DOJ frownded on backseat detentions.

      • How exactly do you “conduct a DUI investigation” with the guy in the back seat of a cop car? If you are doing sobriety tests, you NEED THE GUY. Is there some magical alcohol detector in the back seat of the car?

        Putting him in the back seat, handcuffed or not, is EXACTLY the problem the DOJ found, that is also not in accordance with department policy. They weren’t pursuing an investigation, they just locked the guy up on the chance that some good reason for having done so would turn up.

        The fact that something DID turn up in this case doesn’t change the fact that this practice is against department policy and is also unconstitutional. If the cops are investigating a crime, fine. If they are just keeping someone around without just cause, not acceptable.

      • What I think probably happened is that they came upon a car wreck and seeing that the person in the accident was black, they put him in the back of the police car while they planted the drugs and gun, and then they took him out and executed him, and then they would have probably checked on the damage to the car and restaurant last. If you work backward from your conclusion it becomes a lot easier to figure out what happened. I first conclude the police are crooked murderers and then it’s easy to figure out what happened.

    • Unfortunately, the new rules and/or oversight, due to the lawsuit, makes it harder for that process to happen. Cops have more reports to file when they use cuffs.
      All thanks to the lawsuit……

      • How come people are so adamant about “the criminal had it coming” (when the “criminal” is actually just a suspect) but those same people want to pull this “oh the feds are picking on our poor innocent deputies” (when the deputies in question have been found guilty over and over and over)? If our sheriff’s department hadn’t been so corrupt there wouldn’t have been so many lawsuits and investigations. It is only slightly less corrupt now, but maybe it is headed the right direction.

      • Problem wasn’t that the guy wasn’t handcuffed. Problem was the deputies killed him! Let’s stay focused here folks!

    • “Let’s all be educated and make use of the little common sense you have.” – Are you speaking to yourself?

      The deputies were called to the scene of a motor vehicle accident where the driver presented unconscious. Then ends up in the back of a police car… Not ambulance… Police car not restrained. Keep in mind he sustained an injury grave enough to knock him out. Not to mention he had a major spinal injury not long before he was murdered, and suffered from weakness and muscular degeneration resulting from the injury. YET he miraculously escaped the vehicle and being no more than 135lbs and 5’3″ is 5’4″ was able to take a skilled and trained police officer and obtain his weapon as it was stated in the first Sheriff statement. …

      Then you mention “encountering the suspect on what appears to be multiple felony charges ” At what point in his life was Leroy charged as a Felon? How did he have outstanding warrants when he was even pulled over by Las Vegas Metro Police department and cited for a moving violation. LVMPD is able to cross check the database and verify if there are warrants issued…

      However, I ask you how did you conclude that he “multiple felony charges” where did the “multiple” come from? “multiple felony charges” means more than one… The way you write it as if you indict him for a felony charge, a police officer cannot, but you can? I don’t I am just a Canadian but I though only a judge had the capabilities to do so?

      • I agree with what you wrote and I’ve known him 15+ years. This is a horrible tragedy and ppl need to really read between the lines. Only a idiot would believe the police story line. [removed] doesn’t add up AT ALL. REST N PRADISE LIL Leroy prayers go out to All Family and Friends. AMEN.

    • If you had read the story completely he gave the cops a FAKE name to begin with. so chances are he gave that name and when they discovered he was not who he said tried to make a run for it and the struggle happened.

      • Um no. Read between the lines and it is clear that there was no struggle. He weighed like 135 pounds. People that light aren’t hardly capable of fighting plus he was injured in the past and was unconscious when they arrived. Were you there? No. The only people there were Leroy and the police and you can never believe the police. No, this doesn’t add up at all.

  11. “Live by the sword, die by the sword”, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”…said in so many ways but it all means the same thing!

  12. Thank you Lancaster Mayor Emeritis Hearns for speaking up on an incident in your neighboring city. Just like you came to the defense of Johnathan Ervin when Mayor Oarris sent out that racist hit mailer calling Ervin a gang candidate. Just like you called for the resignation of Stan Muhammad when he made his homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks. I, wait. I was wrong. You were silent on those issues of racism and hate. For shame! Politics suck!

    • Why do the power brokers in Lancaster always stick their noses in their neighbor’s business? We have so much crap going on in Lancaster we should be focusing on our own problems.

  13. This is a very sad story along with other lives killed by police officers. At the end of the day, who is to say there really was a gun or a large bag of marijuana in the suspect’s car? Oh I know because he has a bad background says that it was his. The dude had on a back brace, has history of seizures so if anyone knows when you have a seizure you are stronger than an ox at times… So if he really reached for the gun, does it mean he was trying to shoot the cop or was it his body taking over and that was what was grabbed. Maybe he was holding onto the waist band, maybe after he was pushed in the back from officers His muscles spasms locked up. We will never know. But I bet you there are some witnesses from the taco bell who saw it all.
    I’m all for police using force when needed, but you could have shot his arm, hit his arm with the club, anything other than shot him 9 TIMES. And the face he was 120-130 pounds with a front and rear back brace tells me there is going to be some cover up with this investigation because it makes no sense that 3 officers couldn’t subdue this little injured guy.

    And to the person that said they only praying for the officer and his family is so dead wrong. Leroy has a family and children as well. No matter who the person is or their background, they are still human beings with loved ones. Let’s see who will be praying for you and your family when you die…SMH.

    • Why is it that so many people now always give excuses for criminals who are breaking the law? When you are being arrested and being put in the back seat of the patrol car why would you jump out and start fighting with the deputy’s. If he was reaching for the gun with a grasp on it how can you make excuses for that. He was wanted on a warrant for a home invasion with a shooting. They found a blue steel pistol in his car. That is the problem with today’s society to many excuses for not being law abiding. If he would have complied and followed the deputy’s orders he would not have been shot. I feel bad for his family because he chose a life of crime over his families feelings.

      • My prayers are for the deputy and his family. The trend now is make excuses for the criminal and find something, anything to blame on the Deputy to ruin his life. Enough. If bad guys were raised to obey the law and commands of officers, this wouldn’t happen.. But they’re not. They’re taught to back talk, question, defy and assault because there may just be a paycheck in it. I’ve had it. God bless our local Sheriff Department a d keep them safe.

      • I dunno. It sure does seem like whenever some thug says “I have a badge so I can just shoot people” the excuses do start flying though.

  14. the cops are just doing like they are trained to to ..”AIM FOR THE HEAD” i believe is how they put it.and yes they still have less than lethal weapons but not all of them…why not all of them? and why arent they trained to use less lethal on unarmed people.why are they trained to just kill.you are not the military fighting a war.yes it is a dangerous job but it seems that their trained reflexes for unarmed people are a bit excessive.so continuing to defend and justifying your excessive training to the people that you were sworn to protect and serve isn’t going to leave a great impression.officer safety is important and there are other options that need to be part of your reflexes before “AIM FOR THE HEAD” and empty the clip.

    • He was not unarmed. he had ahold of the service weapon of the officer. That makes him armed and dangerous.
      Police are trained to shoot at the chest to stop the person, not the head.

      • You were there?

        OH! Nevermind. I get it. You are assuming that since the cop SAYS he “grabbed for my gun” that makes it a fact.

        Police ARE trained to shoot at the chest. They are also very well trained in how to play the system so they won’t face any consequences.

  15. At what point did deputies I.D. him? So he passed his field sobriety test and that is why he was placed in the back of the deputies car uncuffed? Like Dr. Henry Lee quipped about the evidence in the O.J. case: SOMETHING WRONG.

  16. WHEN, the LASD story on this case falls apart, people are going to question the facts as presented by the killers. 1: Even before the deputies arrived on the scene, they had already been advised by dispatch that a driver had been involved in an accident. 2: Said driver was reported to be unconscious. So this is the part in their story where their story lacks credibility: Upon arrival, they begin to conduct a field sobriety test. I would like to know what specific indications led to that action? Did driver smell of alcohol? Did driver seem to have been in a drug induced stupor? Or, was driver in medical distress? This point cannot be overlooked because from that point the action that deputies took is determines subsequent actions. After completing the field sobriety test, they then place the driver in the back of their car….why was he not cuffed at the time they made to place the drive in the back of the car. If they had cuffed him, he would have been unable to grab for any weapon. But no! They deputies report to us that they first place him in the back to their vehicle – albeit uncuffed. WHY?? So they then decide to talk about him first? They wait to determine who he is? Wants or Warrants??? Their reported actions at this point are very suspect and don’t make sense, not to mention, that they probably didn’t follow department protocol. The deputies who put him in the back of the car seem to have acted rather negligently to say the least. So Browing is in custody, in the back of the deputy vehicle, uncuffed, and no struggle has ocurred yet. So according to their statements, he was in the back of the car because they determined that he was under the influence??? See, they really haven’t said!! I don’t believe he was or they would have cuffed him immediately upon conclusion of the field sobriety test. But they don’t do this. Instead, they place him in the back of the vehicle uncuffed. We are then left to guess what facts arose that then led them to later conclude that they now had to cuff him?? They haven’t said, and are probably up the creek without a paddle on that specific point! Very unusual circumstance. I can only surmise that the deputies learned that he was the suspect in the home invasion incident wherein some victim got shot. They then decided to take the law into their own hands and execute him on the spot. 9 Shots!!!!??? Really???? INCREDULOUS. I want a copy of the autopsy report. I didn’t know Taco Bell was open at 3am.

    • Corrections:
      Driver was reported to APPEAR to be unconscious. What is reported to dispatch and what is relayed to officers is not always 1 for 1.

      Upon arrival the deputies made contact with the driver/suspect. At this point its entirely possible the driver/suspect was NOT unconscious, if he ever was, and was able to move, walk, function in some manner. Its entirely possible that the driver/suspect refused medical attention, and didn’t want to hold still and wait. During this contact, the deputies suspect DUI is the cause of the accident, and proceed to investigate.

      Quote: “The suspect was placed in the rear of a sheriff’s patrol unit the conclusion of the investigation”, which is direct from the LASD released statement. They determined that the driver/suspect needed to be detained at the minimum, and was placed in the patrol vehicle. There are many reasons to do this, but its usually to hold a suspect in a safe controlled manner while additional investigation is taking place and determination if an arrest will be done. A cursory pat down for weapons will likely have taken place already, but a more thorough search on a person isn’t done just for a detainment.

      Based on this information, most of the rest of your post is baseless nonsense, but lets continue.

      Deputies decide/determine that they will be arresting the person for DUI, so proceed to remove the driver/suspect from the vehicle to conduct full arrest procedures (full search of person, empty pockets, handcuff them, etc). The suspect decides, for whatever reason (remember they have been determined to be DUI, they have a warrant, are suspect in a previous shooting, and are in possession of a firearm and have an undetermined amount of weed(meh) in the vehicle they were driving) that he doesn’t want to face consequences, and a struggle ensues.

      During the struggle, the deputies weapon is grabbed. Now I can’t decide if the suspect WANTED to grab the weapon on purpose, or it was just something convenient for him to grab while in the struggle. The deputy does not know either. All he/she knows is that their gun has been grabbed, and now they must maintain control of it as best as they can, or the possibility is they could be shot, their partners can be shot, innocent bystanders can be shot, and even the suspect can shoot themselves.

      After a period of time of not being able to convince the suspect (either by verbal commands and/or physical force) to release the weapon, a decision was made to attempt to remove the threat by using deadly force. I don’t like that they were FORCED to make that decision, but it was done.

      Now we have to deal with all the sideline quarterbacks making stuff up, jumping to conclusions, and of course making it a race issue. Yes, EVERY time a black man is stopped they get shot. Can you tell me how many times a black man is stopped, for whatever reason, and they are not shot? How many of them followed lawful orders and were unharmed? How many white men are shot during an interaction with cops? How about Asian? How about we go with religious groups? How many muslims, or catholics, or hindi? Whats the breakdown of ethnicity of the cops during these shootings? Whats the interaction like during these interactions? None of that matters does it?

      For the record, many taco bells have 24 hour drive thru’s, and even if they didn’t, its not hard to figure out that maybe there is a cleaning crew, or deliveries being made, or any number of other reasons a business might have people working even when they are closed. I’m sure those immensely brilliant 14 year olds who broke into Target on 10th can give you the answer to that question.

      • Jack, when the decision is made “that guy we have in the back of the car needs to be arrested” and they “get him out of the car for the arrest procedures,” how do you think they should go about getting him out of the car?

        Keep in mind, at this point there are AT LEAST four deputies on the scene. They’ve already done at least a cursory weapons check, so they can be fairly confident that he can’t shoot them. I would wager that department policy gives some guidance here, and that said policy doesn’t involve anything less than a show of overwhelming force to ensure compliance with simple orders to get out, put your hands on your head, etc. All those orders given from a distance that would keep the only deadly weapons in the area, which are attached to the deputies, away from the suspect.

        That’s where things went horribly wrong here. But since “oh well, just a dirtbag, no harm done” is most likely the response from most cops and all badge lickers there probably won’t be any serious corrective action.

        • “All those orders given from a distance that would keep the only deadly weapons in the area, which are attached to the deputies, away from the suspect.”.

          Incorrect. At least one deputy MUST be close to open the vehicle door, possibly pull the suspect out, to hold, search and cuff the suspect.

          Yes, obviously something went wrong. A person died. All we have to go on is the info given to the public. And when people can’t even quote that properly when trying to make a point one way or the other, it makes taking them serious a bit harder.

          • LOL…if you can’t open a car door without standing in the opening and getting attacked, get a different job.

            If you can’t convince a guy in the back seat of a cop car to get out through the open door without having to go in after him, get a different job.

            If you can’t do the standard “hands on your head so I can walk up behind you and get these cuffs on” get a different job.

            Yes, someone has to get close to him, but they don’t have to get close to him before he is in a position that makes him not a threat.

            Unless, of course, they just figure they can take a short cut and if it goes bad they can just shoot the guy so why not.

      • Hey Mr. [removed], your entire response is based on nothing factual. It is a bunch of conjecture and innuendo. For example: 2nd paragraph, you write “At this point it is entirely possibe the driver/suspect was NOT unconscious”. That’s exactly the point! WE, just don’t know.

        We haven’t heard a statement from the deputies who made contact. Moreover, it’s equally entirely possible the driver/suspect was unconscious.

        Based on this singular observation of your response to the original post, no further analysis is warranted.

        I could also substitute conjecture for fact and construct several scenarios that would be entirely specious. But, I just don’t play that game.

        Furthermore, you act as if law enforcement officers never lie. I might remind you that there are many instances in the past where police and sheriffs have been found to have lied on reports; lied on the witness stand; lied to grand juries; lied to justify their criminal behavior, etc., etc., etc.

        Here’s a few names that illustrate the point: Mark Fuhrman; Daniel Holtzclaw; Michael Tabman; Drew Peterson; Stacey Koon; Laurence Powell; Justin Volpe, etc., etc. And even from our own LASD: Sussie Ayala; Fernando Luviano; Eric Gonzalez; Steven Leavins; Maricela Long; Gilbert Michel.

        So you see JACK, don’t be so quick to accept everything and anything that law enforcement says and treat it as gospel truth.

        Right now across this nation and even in our own county there are law enforcement officers under investigation and in jail going through trials for this very thing. In Fact, the former high command at LASD is going through it right now because of lying to the FBI and hiding evidence regarding the beating and abuse of persons under their control.

        In Baltimore, officers are on trial for the death of Freddie Gray.

        I mean, I could go on and on and on citing numerous instances and name dropping, but the main focus is to ask the tough questions to get at the truth of how any person could end up dead while under the direct control and supervision of law enforcement. Right now I’m not buying their story.

        • “Hey Mr. [removed], your entire response is based on nothing factual”

          Since you started off with a BS statement, I’ll ignore the rest. Thanks for playing.

      • The first sheriff press release statement states when officers arrived on scene Leroy Browning was unconscious

    • He was a bad guy and a threat to me and my family. Bang bang. That’s what should and did happen. Prayers to the Deputy.

        • I know a guy doing twenty years for that.

          No sympathy, since he was in the drug trade. But he had been under investigation by the DEA for three years without them coming up with anything. Then among the photos of people he was associating with appears a girl he met in a bar and took home for a romp. Turns out she was married to a cop. Two weeks later the cops get “a tip from a confidential informant” that they convince a judge is credible so they get a warrant for his house. Surprisingly, this guy who has outmaneuvered the DEA for three years gets caught by the local cops with two kilos of cocaine in his fridge.

          Get involved with a cop’s wife, get framed and sent away for twenty years. Lesson learned?

  17. Y’all keep on talking abt the gun and weed he had in the car but don’t you think if he wanted to kill a cop he would’ve js grabbed his gun and used it in the first place if that was his intentions??? Damn you ppl are ao ignorant! Nobody is saying he’s perfect but he didn’t deserve that

  18. Bottom line the deputies did what they had to do and that is to protect the community from harms way especially from this subject that later they found a weapon in his vehicle or the deputies should had let the subject get into the car n retrieve it and than the deputies shoot him to make it right.. come one we all know that he ain’t no angel n he was a sweet loving person and meant no harm cuz no one is with him 24/7.. my prayers to the family but again deputies acted according to their training.. I have seen lots of officer involved shootings and especially on the African Americans and on some I don’t agree on how the officers acted but on some I do.. Don’t resist and follow the officers orders and you come out alive to live more years. That’s we have attorneys to fight for your rights and the courts…

  19. I’m sure there was at least 2 deputies on scene fighting with the guy. 2 on 1 and you couldn’t subdue him just enough to take his hands off of the gun? What happened to pepper spray or your taser? He didn’t have the officers gun in his possession so what reason did the officer have to fear for hours life? What reason did the deputy have to take an unarmed man’s life?

    • The guy had the weapon in his hand and would not release. If he was able to clear it from the holster and shoot the deputy would that make you feel better. You grab a cops gun , expect to get shot.
      Plus the guy had a gun in his car and was wanted for home Invasion robbery where someone else was shot.

    • Can you determine on what we know HOW much of the gun he had grabbed? A weapon CAN be fired when not completely removed from the holster. A holster has enough give at times for SOME amount of aiming/pointing to be done. Maybe he shoots the deputy in the leg. Do you know whats in the leg? A femoral artery. That’s a big honking artery that pumps serious blood. And yes people can DIE from having that thing hit. They bleed out.

      As soon as somebody grabs a deputies gun, its life and death. Don’t force anybody to make that decision, let alone a deputy.

  20. Seriously people he has kids respect him seriously all of you are acting ignorant act like people human beings not animals damn a life is lost and you guys are debating over whos fault it is grow the [removed] up

  21. Leroy Browning was a thug and a menace to the community. He was suspected of drunk driving and the deputies found a pistol and a large baggie of marijuana in his car. He was wanted on a warrant in connection with an Antelope Valley robbery and shooting.

    Mr. Browning was convicted in 2008 for possession of a loaded firearm and sentenced to a year in jail and he was facing court proceedings on a 2014 charge in Los Angeles of felony hit-and-run, felony evading of a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon.

    Mr. Browning was wanted by the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station detectives in connection of a home invasion robbery in which a person was shot. He was charged with armed robbery, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon for a July 12 incident. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

    Mr. Browning knew he was going to jail and possibly prison. I am not surprised he fought the deputies.

      • Sorry. He chose to be a criminal and was a threat to me and my family. One less thug to worry about hurting me or takingy stuff.

      • People are ignorant who thinks he doesn’t deserve it he already shot from wor D in a home invasion what makes you think he is it going to shoot the cop you people are ignorant

  22. He had rights!! He was UNCONCIOUS! but yet they proceeded to take him out of the vehicle?? The medical attention wasn’t met!! First he crashed at Taco Bell on 47th & R, now you guys had a report from Taco Bell employees that he had crashed into the apartment building by Taco Bell??? You put him in the car && then took him out?? I BELIEVE HE FAUGHT YALL CAUSE YALL SOME ALL MIGHTY GANG THAT HAS THE FULL ATHORITY TO TAKE A LIFE, BUT ONLY IF “YOU FEEL” THREATENED. “LIFE && DEATH” GANG THAT DIDN’T GO ABOUT “PROCEDURE” CORRECTLY!! YOU GUYS WONT WIN THIS BATTLE!! HIS PAST DOESNT GIVE YOU “SHERIFF’S” THE RIGHT TO SHOOT HIM 9 TIMES && KILL HIM!!!!!!! HE HAS RIGHTS!!! WE ALL HAVE RIGHTS!!! WE WONT GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!!! THIS WONT GO AWAY!!! && WE WILL GET JUSTICE!!! ‪#‎LeroyMontana‬ ‪#‎SayHisName‬ ‪#‎HeHadRigts‬ ‪#‎JusticeForLeroy‬ ‪#‎NoJusticeNoPeace‬ ‪#‎MarchForLeroy‬ ‪#‎AndForEveryoneWhoNeedsJustice‬ ‪#‎Palmdale‬ ‪#‎Lancaster‬ ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ ‪#‎Leroy‬ ‪#‎March‬ ‪#‎WeAllHaveRights

    • Uh, if your a criminal and you are now dead…. Yay! Lives don’t matter if your life is to harass and cause problems for productive citizens. Why don’t you activist actually protest over truly innocent none criminal people who are killed by others…… And the simple phrase “blacklivesmatter” only promotes racism, all lives matter….. But I personally believe that criminals with checkered pasts have less priority on me caring about their life than a truly innocent productive citizens life, that just me….. #obeythelaw

    • He has the right to no longer be a threat to society. If even half of the accusations about him are true then he was not a good person; he was a liability to everyone around him outside of prison, and another unnecessary cost in prison.

      Sheriffs ask for basic compliance to uphold a standard set of rules that every law abiding citizen recognizes. Picture yourself being attacked by someone; they are on top of you and you feel them trying to make a move that would end your life – how do you respond in that moment? Quit defending people who add nothing positive to this world while damning those that do!

    • Taco bell employees REPORTED he APPEARED unconscious at the time of the 911 call. That does not mean he was, or stayed unconscious. The rest of your rambling is more nonsense. No need for me to continue. #getedumacated #justiceserved

    • What about justice for the people who he terrorized during that home invasion robbery? Someone was shot. I don’t see anyone jumping to their aide. Stop making martyrs out of criminals.

      • How about innocent until proven guilty. Everyone has a lot to say and no one knows the complete truth. let’s not judge others unless we want to be judged, No one life is without transgressions against someone. Try looking at the big picture and not focusing on someone else’s past which we don’t know the full story about. We have a problem with police harassing and framing black males everywhere in America. Racial profiling is real, and many innocent men and adolescents fall victim to it everyday. Until the big problem is fixed we can not focus on individual issues. I believe there are many ways the situation could have been handled and which would not require a man being shot 9 times, by four different officers.

  23. The only family I am praying for is the family of the Deputy who had to fight for his life and kill another human being. I pray that he and his family have as normal of a Christmas as they can following the actions he had to take.

    • Frequent a few cop forums, or quietly have a drink at a bar they frequent. You will find that most of them are jealous of the “paid vacation,” particularly since it is holiday time.

      • Yeah Tim Scott. I’m sure the Deputy did that just so he could take a vacation. I’m sure he called Taco Bell, told them to stiff in a call so he could kill another human being!!

        Why don’t you go out and put your life on the line on a daily basis?

        • Tim Scott does not believe that law enforcement officers put their life on the line. He thinks they dream of shooting and killing unarmed civilians every day.

          • I don’t think they “dream of it,” I think that a not insignificant number of them just don’t think it is a particularly bad thing to do in a pinch, since it generally has no particularly bad consequences for them. I also think that the “good” cops around them are a big part of why there are no consequences for them.

        • What makes you think I don’t? I might be a garbageman. Garbagemen face much higher fatality on the job risks. So do a lot of construction workers.

      • Tim that’s a straight out lie because they don’t get time off they work the desk for three days or can burn three days of their vacation time. Quit making lies all the damn time.

        • Derron Wilson was on paid administrative leave for four months.

          Run “officer placed paid administrative leave after shooting” through your favorite search engine. If our cops don’t get this benefit, good for us, but it is common practice.

          You can apologize for calling me a liar, or you can skip it. I don’t really care, and anyone interested enough to run that search will know the truth is on my side here anyway.

          • I don’t think most officers would kill a person to get some paid leave, especially a minority considering all the attention it will get. Faking injuries and going on disability, that’s another story. Way too many officers taking paid disability on the taxpayers dime.

        • Ahhh they have to take 3 days vacation time. For taking a human life. Because the guy MAY of had a hand on a holstered gun. After being unconscious. What does it take to hold deputies responsible for their actions here? As for having a gun in his truck, so do the vast majority of cowboys in this valley. Along with weed. Didn’t know that constituted a death sentence. But only if the gun owner is black. Take a gun from a white dude, and the NRA would be hitting the streets protesting for gun rights! Why not dump the whole USA judicial system? Cops can be judge, jury AND hangman!

  24. His Name is Leroy, NOT “suspect” NOT as they potrayed in article”… A Person deserving of life. My husband’s Luke cousin. ** A gofund me account has been created.***https://www.gofundme.com/h5fuuhwk… A slim scrawny 135 lbs max 5’3″ with shoes on man that was shot 9 times after crashing and being reported unconscious by Taco Bell employees when they called 911. Why was he taken out of of the vehicle? Why was he not cuffed right away since the police took it upon themselves to place him in their vehicle? Plus he had a full frontal and back brace from a prior injury, and he was reported unconscious. Ultimately why was he moved by non medical personnel???. For the past 2 mths I was working in the ER and many DUI suspected drivers came in with minor injuries and DUI blood verification done in the ER NOT feild sobriety. Why wouldn’t indicating factors like “smell” or breath analysis be conducted as opposed to removing a reported unconscious victim of an accident!!! Why was it jumped to the conclusion of DUI suspicion???? Bloody hell he has a HISTORY of SEIZURES!!! Especially stemming from his last car accident he was on medication due to his severe injury to his back! As a so called trained law enforcement officer should be able to deduce and asses the situation. Why was he placed in a police car not arrested anyway and not left in his vehicle for EMT!!! Really! He was able to escape the vehicle??? Why was there (witness reports ) 20 min wait for EMT to arrive on scene! How can a previously injured scrawny short man take on 3 police officers??? Sheriffs reported that he bear hugged a police officer after he miraculously escaped a police car and took the officers gun! That little guy!! Never mind having prior injury! Resulting in 9 fatal bullets!! What… never heard of a frontal cortex injury that would result in mental derangement??? Was a little man that threatening??? I would laugh if a small sized man tried to tackle me, pregnant even. Difference between Canada and USA police force is in Canada they are educated, well trained and encouraged to upholding the peace, not trained with fear and so called “A” type personality. A person sworn to wear a badge and gun to uphold the law is not a judge and should not be trigger happy! I just had this discussion! With the First year respiratory, I pulled up police requirements for Las Vegas and all it is GED or HIGH SCHOOL! Not Baccalaureate or Masters HIGH SCHOOL! Plus they can’t have more than 2 DUIs… What not 1 but 2 DUI but heaven forbid they have a domestic dispute charge that is the only disqualifying factor besides credit. My mothers cousin was a top ranked LVMPD and I am still ashamed for how the police force is set up to fail. I am disgusted even though it was in California…. IDK ranting but this is sick.

    • “frontal cortex injury that would result in mental derangement”.

      So why was he driving, if he was mentally deranged?

  26. Okay look I’m black myself and I am even saying that police performed there duties as an officer. Let’s break this down…they responded to a guy who unconscious, learns that he under the influence WHICH IS ILLIEGAL…officer going for an arrest guy fights officer…RESISTING ARREST..guy hen reaches for the officers gun obviously not to play with it he was going to shoot..so officer took there necessary step and shot him…unfortunately he died later..now there searching vehicle finds he had an unregistered gun and weed…AGAIN ILLEGAL…and also “his life is valuable and precious” REALLY??? Was his life valuable and precious when he robbed people of the belongings that they worked so hard for…where someone also got shot in the process…Now yes there are bad cops out there..BUT In this paticular situation the cop here did his job..Otherwise the guy would of got a hold of the cop gun and shot him..USE YOUR MIND PEOPLE AND HAVE COMMON SENSE..I understand how the world is right now with police officers but look at the facts please…

    • Agree: “During the course of their investigation, detectives located a blue- steel pistol and a large baggie of marijuana located inside the suspect’s vehicle,” Hernandez said.

      At the time of the shooting, Browning was wanted on a warrant stemming from a home-invasion robbery in which a victim was shot, according to the sheriff’s department.

      • So it was okay to shoot an ALREADY UNSTABLE man 9 times && kill him?? So it was okay to not seek medical attention upon arrival?? I’m SURE they knew who he was, 1st thing on the agenda when the police comes in contact with you is IDENTIFICATION!! I’m sure they knew this before they decided to do anything. Have a bag of marijuana doesn’t mean ANYTHING! PEOPLE SMOKE! && PEOPLE SELL DOPE, WHICH ONE SAYS SHOOT TO KILL?

          • Yeah. Something that may or may not have happened. Something that may have happened AFTER the deputy decided that fighting with a 130 pound guy was too much trouble and was drawing the weapon himself. Something we are guaranteed to never really know anything about, since one witness is dead and the other is unreliable.

    • Michael it show u belong in the house u just believe everything this officer is saying sad just make sure u stay in the house and don’t come out to the field were it’s real smh

      • I guess the bruises and abrasion on the officer they did that to themselves…and trust I do get out the house I myself a while back has been victimize by officers as I was simply walking home from school. Which HINT I said there are bad cops out there..but jus know that I know facts about this incident and the gentlemen that was shot was 100 PERCENT IN THE WRONG..but like I said before I’m going to say it gains there are bad cops out there…but in this paticular case they did there job..

          • No I’m not but I am an average citizen who OBEYS the law and don’t rob people and end up shooting them..and also don’t drive under the influence..if he had never reached for the gun during the scuffle he would be alive right now. Let’s say he didn’t reach for the gun your still fighting the cops WHY WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR WRONG. He was driving under the influence to where he ended up at a Taco Bell and was PASSED OUT.

        • Michael, any way you slice it there was no reason to kill the guy. These POS oficers are killing innocent people everyday and getting away with murder. They are costing the tax payers millions in lawsuits and no one is being held accountable. The entire department needs to be cleaned from crooked cops starting with the upper leadership that keep covering for the cops.

    • Recent shooting taking place in the African American community? Give me a damn break. Shootings are taking place everywhere. Like when he shot someone he was robbing (allegedly) but that persons life must have not been as “precious” as his. Gtfoh!

    • There seem to be people who still take what they hear in the media and repeat or react to it as truth! That’s why I don’t watch the news. If you have ever had a front row seat to any incident or similar circumstance you would know that the media in this instance has clearly reported the statement given by the police as fact. This young man’s life mattered & police no longer value life. There were multiple deputies on the scene and they could have & should have handled this a different way. The facts just don’t add up to any logical person.

    • You sound crazy. So u just automatically believe the reports? ….. If any of that is true there was still no reason for my friend to die. Cops are murders and liars. Not so far fetched that this story is bs.

    • The police job is supposed to be protect and serve not to take a life. Stop being ignorant and closing your eyes to the truth. How about innocent until proven guilty. Everyone has a lot to say and no one knows the complete truth. let’s not judge others unless we want to be judged, nobodies life is without transgressions against someone. Try looking at the big picture and not focusing on someone else’s past which we don’t know the full story about. We have a problem with police harassing and framing black males everywhere in America. Racial profiling is real, and many innocent men and adolescents fall victim to it everyday. Until the big problem is fixed we can not focus on individual issues. I believe there are many ways the situation could have been handled and which would not require a man being shot 9 times, by four different officers.

  27. I don’t understand why people think it’s unbelievable that this guy would attempt to grab an officer’s gun. I feel these excerpts from the article would be some pretty strong motivators to grab a gun.

    “During the course of their investigation, detectives located a BLUE STEEL PISTOL and a large baggie of marijuana located inside the suspect’s vehicle,” Hernandez said.

    At the time of the shooting, Browning was WANTED on a warrant stemming from a HOME INVASION ROBBERY in which a VICTIM WAS SHOT, according to the sheriff’s department.”

    That being said, what do you think is going to happen when you grab an officers gun in the middle of a fight. Put yourself in the officers position, what would you do if someone was fighting you and was trying to take your gun?

    • “HE WAS REACHING FOR MY GUN!” Which is the same as “HE WAS REACHING FOR HIS WAISTBAND!” Sadly, we’ll never know the truth. Sounds like the same narrative every time there’s a police shooting. Any young American black man knows that the cops would kill them if such action took place. Yet time and again we are told the same thing. “He was reaching for his waistband”! “He was reaching for my gun”. A unprovable remark. Which is why it’s so handy.

      We’re to believe all these young black men wanted to commit suicide?

      As far as the warrant is concerned, “he was wanted in connection to”. That could mean anything. He could of been a bystander, a driver or a shooter. Doesn’t tell us anything. Except he never had the opportunity to address such chargers. And he never will! Something that was, at one time, the right of every American!

      And now the rush to try him, find him guilty, sentence him to death and carry out that sentence in the media. Same story, different day! All so he can be trashed before any investigation takes place. That way the public will feel no sympathy for the dead man, and no pressure will be placed on those who killed him! All in just a few minutes. So much for the American judicial system! Something no longer needed in America! No more need for the presumption of innocence! No more need for individual rights! As long as law enforcement is NEVER questioned or held accountable, all is right in the land of the free!

      • ***- do you see the irony in this comment you made?

        “And now the rush to try him, find him guilty, sentence him to death and carry out that sentence in the media. Same story, different day! All so he can be trashed before any investigation takes place.”

        Given that you are doing the exact same thing to the police officers?

  28. I’m curious. What makes this an “activist group”? Is it that they look at our law enforcement’s proven record of illegal activity and question their resolve to do the right thing here, or is it just because they are black?

  29. I have know respect for the sheriff’s who responded to the scene. The young man was only 5″4 120 pounds with a back brace on, so you mean to tell me that these trained officers couldn’t get this young man in hand cuffs, and had to shoot him 9 times. What happen with trying to use taser or mace first. I’m sure before they shoot him the officer he was wrestling with was able to get away from him before they started shooting. I’m sure the officers not going to shoot somebody 9 times while another officer is wrestling with the young man.

  30. It’s nice to know that we live in one of the best Countries in the world, where an opinion is welcome and respected. With that be seeing said, a opinion is just that-a opinion. With respect to the continual investigation of the shooting, what you read in the paper is preliminary information. Unless you were personally at the scene of the crime and witness the events as attested by law enforcement, until the official release of a report from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, it’s all speculation. Until a report is released, I would even venture to say it appears to be character assassination. But, that’s my opinion! And as you are entitled to yours, I am entitled to mine. Relief from the herd-mentally is sincerely requested. A write-up in the newspaper is not a official report issued by the Los Angeles Sheriff Office. Hence, don’t judge the color of a shoe until you either put it on or see the color of it.

    • “until the official release of a report from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, it’s all speculation”

      Unfortunately, when the report is issued it’s still going to be all speculation. Some will believe the report, some won’t.

  32. Leave it to ole Henry Hearns for stirring up trouble where he DOES NOT KNOW the facts!!! The police dispatcher does not say its a black man go shoot him…they send deputies out to LAWBREAKERS…it is quite illegal to attempt to disarm a deputy, and there are CONSEQUENCES to that behavior. And this man calls himself a Christian…always playing the race card and stirring the pot…

  33. fighting with deputies + grabbing gun = getting shot; it’s pretty basic and applies to everyone. Why are these guys practically sainted by family & friends after the fact? It’s a shame his bad choices not only cost him his life and brought grief to his family, but also will contribute to continuing community divisiveness.

    • Havent we learned anything from all that has happened. Nothing is as it seems ..Cops lie..people lie..

    • i’m tired of the “grabbed my gun” narrative. NO BLACK MAN IN 2015 IS REACHING FOR AN OFFICERS GUN. They all know very well how happy police are to kill them. I hope there is video proving this not to be the case.

      • I’m just wondering why it’s so far fetched to you that he would be reaching for an officers gun. How do you figure? Do you really think that NO black man would dare to do that in 2015? Same black man had a pistol and weed in his car but in your mind there is nooooo way he would’ve reached for a gun. Because clearly he was such a great guy that broke no laws and lived a crime free life.
        Your statement is a damn joke. I wish people would wait for all facts to be revealed before making ignorant statements.

      • Remember this guy created the situation by crashing into a building. The police did not stop his guy randomly nor do they want the heat of shooting someone. It’s the very last thing they want to do. Think about it from the police perspective. If someone came into your house and was fighting you for your gun you wouldn’t think to tase them or anything else. Your mind is flooded by fear and survival and you will do what you have to do to survive

        • There seem to be people who still take what they hear in the media and repeat or react to it as truth! That’s why I don’t watch the news. If you have ever had a front row seat to any incident or similar circumstance you would know that the media in this instance has clearly reported the statement given by the police as fact. This young man’s life mattered & police no longer value life. There were multiple deputies on the scene and they could have & should have handled this a different way. The facts just don’t add up to any logical person.

          • I think that there are many people that look at the person shot and decide that his life was worthless because of his criminal history and the perception that the police came upon him drunk after a dui crash, with drugs, and a gun. It’s not just that the police did not value his life, there are plenty of people that support the police in not valuing his life. And it’s not just a minority issue because I would say a white person with a similar background would also be seen by many as a criminal that brought tragedy upon himself. Your statement says that his life mattered as though it’s a given, and it should be a given, but sadly it’s not.

        • D, STFU. If a cop’s mind is flooded with fear, every time they interact with civilians, than that POS should quit and make room for someone that really wants to be there and will gladly do the job.

    • thank you, this is not about the color of his skin, it’s about his actions, the last thing I would do is reach for their gun, there is only one reason why you will reach for somone s gun and I doubt that is just to look at it….

      • Yep, so you really belive the cops version that the guy was trying to grab their gun. I remember a cop that claimed the same thing and killed the guy. Luckily there was a civilian that recorded everything and turned out the guy never grabed the gun and the POS cop is now in jail.