LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The man apparently did not learn his lesson the first time around.
On June 12th, around 4:00 p.m., two Azusa PD officers were assigned to go around the Edgewood Shopping Center because local residents had complaints about people drinking in public around the area. During the search, the two officers saw two men sitting in front of a business. One of the men was drinking from a container in a plastic bag, indicating that the drink was alcohol. The suspects spotted the officers, dropped the drink, and proceeded to walk away. As they were walking away, the two officers confronted the suspects. It was confirmed that the suspects had been drinking alcohol. Two additional officers were called to the scene, and both suspects were getting arrested. One of the suspects was very intoxicated and would not go down without a fight. When the officers attempted to arrest the intoxicated suspect, he refused to cooperate and ran off. The officers ran him down, but the suspect was still not done fighting them off. The suspect attempted numerous punches and kicks towards the officers. The officers continued to give commands to stop fighting, but the suspect continued to attack them. According to the report, “At one point he unsuccessfully attempted to remove an officer’s TASER from its holster. He then grabbed the officer’s OC spray, successfully pulling it from the officer’s duty belt.” This was when the suspect drew the line, and the officers hit the suspect multiple times. They finally arrested and handcuffed the suspect by applying two tasers on him, but the suspect continued to struggle with the officers, despite being tasered.
The suspect, identified as a 45-year-old male with the name of Jose Jesus Juarez, had serious injuries from the fight. When paramedics arrived to help treat his injuries, he was aggressive and belligerent towards them.
Juarez was later treated at a local hospital, where he was later released. The June 12th incident was being investigated by the District’s Attorney Office for possible charges.
Then on June 24th, Juarez was shot by Azusa police. The shooting occurred on the 5000 block of North Conwell Avenue at 11:30 p.m. According to KTLA5, “Officers from the Azusa Police Department were patrolling the area about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when they observed a male walking down the sidewalk on Conwell. The man, later identified as 45-year-old Azusa resident Jose Jesus Juarez, looked back at police, hid behind a vehicle and then took off, according to sheriff’s homicide investigator Eduardo Aguirre.” Once again, Juarez found himself in a bad situation. Based on the suspicious activity, officers began to run Juarez down. Juarez obtained a rake, and threw it at the officers and then grabbed a shovel. Then he began swinging the shovel at the officers, hitting one officer in the chest. One of the threatened officers proceeded to shoot Juarez, and fired at him multiple times, hitting Juarez “at least once”.
Area where the shooting occurred.
Juarez was taken to a local hospital in stable condition ad his injuries were not life threatening. His attorney said that he has three bullet wounds. One of the officers involved in the shooting, happened to be involved in the June 12th incident. Juarez’s attorney, Luis Carrillo, says he is suing the Azusa PD. He feels that the officers did not have the authorization to confront Juarez in the first place. Carrillo stated, ““Why did they stop him? The stop was totally illegal, against the Fourth Amendment, unjustified, and they were wrong.” However, the assault initiated by Juarez, may be too tough to prove to the court that Juarez’s case can be justified. It would seem that the damage has already been done.
The incidents are still being investigated. Anyone with information about the most recent incident is encouraged to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
http://ktla.com/2015/06/25/azusa-police-shoot-wound-man-prompting-investigation/