A funeral is scheduled Tuesday afternoon for an unarmed 19-year-old man who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers on the 101 Freeway after he told a 911 dispatcher he had a gun and was going to use it.
The family of Abdul Arian plans to hold a news conference at noon before the 1 p.m. funeral in North Hollywood, just one day after filing a $120-million claim with the city of Los Angeles.
The teen was shot after he led officers on a high-speed freeway pursuit and called 911 to threaten police with a gun.
The Times reported that LAPD officers fired more than 90 rounds at Arian after he assumed a “shooting stance” and appeared to raise his arms and point a weapon while running backward on the 101 Freeway.
LAPD officials said those actions led officers to open fire, killing him.
During the pursuit, Arian called 911 and threatened police: “I have a gun…. I’ve been arrested before for possession of destructive devices; I’m not afraid of the cops.”
He said he would use the gun if necessary.
In a news release, attorney Jeffrey M. Galen, who is representing the family with William Margolin, said the $120-million lawsuit was “equivalent to $1 million per bullet.”
LAPD officials dispute that their eight officers fired 150 shots and said the number was far less.
The police union that represents about 10,000 LAPD officers issued a statement saying Arian’s action “set into motion a regrettable series of events.”
“When a person decides to engage officers in a pursuit, refuses police orders to end the threat they are posing to the safety of officers and the public, tells the police that they have a gun, exits a vehicle and takes an aggressive shooting stance, extends their arms out and points an unknown object at the officers, they are subjecting themselves to the consequences of their actions, which may include being shot,” union officials said in the statement.
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