By Brian Day
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — The death of Chino Hills man is at the center of an officer-involved shooting in Monterey Park that has garnered national attention.
Steve Rodriguez, 22, was killed about 9:30 a.m. Monday after two officers responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting that he was breaking windows at the restaurant with a large pipe bender.
Rodriguez left the restaurant in the 1200 block of Avenida Cesar Chavez, and officers demanded he get on the ground.
When he did not, they fired a Taser at him, which had little effect.
Rodriguez then turned toward two officers with the tool, spurring them to fire 10 times. He was declared dead at an area hospital.
The incident was captured on a cell phone camera by a witness who then posted the video online — it has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.
The gory nature of the video has resulted in the incident being covered extensively by newspapers such as the New York Daily News and blogs such as Gawker.com.
“It’s a tough thing for the officers, for the family, for the witnesses ... for everyone involved,” Monterey Park Police Chief Jim Smith said.
Though the video of the shooting has gone viral on the Internet, Monterey Park police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials continued this week to withhold the names of the officers involved. They were only described as 12-year and three-year veterans of the Monterey Park Police Department.
“We’re not, at this point, releasing those names,” Smith said.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave and offered psychological counseling, as is the policy for any officer involved in a shooting, police Capt. Eugene Harris said.
“We expect them back to work, if not next week, the following week,” Harris said.
The amount of time an officer takes for leave after being involved in a shooting varies on a case-by-case basis, but is generally at least three days, Harris said.
Officials added that the names would likely be disclosed in the next few days.
The Los Angeles County sheriff’s Homicide Bureau is spearheading the investigation into the shooting.
“It’s under investigation by the sheriff’s (department) and D.A.'s Office, which is the normal protocol with us,” Smith said. “We’ll continue to follow the investigation.
Also withheld by authorities this week was the coroner’s report.
An autopsy was performed on Rodriguez’s body on Thursday, but sheriff’s investigators placed a security hold on the findings, barring coroner’s officials from releasing information, said Ed Winter, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner assistant chief of operations.
Because of the security hold, information such as how many times Rodriguez was shot or where two electrified Taser probes fired at him ultimately landed were not available.
“It won’t be an indefinite hold,” said Lt. Eddie Hernandez with the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. “Just enough time to give the investigators time to gather as much info as possible before the information is made public.”
Smith declined to discuss the shooting itself.
“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on it at this time,” he said. “I need to let the investigators do their job.”
Little is known about Rodriguez as members of his family could not be reached for comment this week.
The Chino Hills man was a student at East Los Angeles College, officials said Friday.
The restaurant was located directly across the street from the college and adjacent to several bustling shopping centers.
Detectives are looking into the possibility that an incident at the campus earlier in the day may have precipitated his actions, Hernandez said. No other details were forthcoming.
While the digital age has changed law enforcement a great deal in recent years and decades, Harris said the fact that many citizens are now carrying cell phones capable of doubling as video cameras makes no difference.
In fact, Harris said, Monterey Park police have gone “above and beyond” when it comes to using technology to record their police work.
Every patrol car is equipped with a video camera, and all officers carry audio recorders, he said.
“Any citizen contact is recorded,” Harris said.
The presence of a civilian camera does not alter police behavior, he said.
“We teach people to perform as if you’re always being watched, taped or video recorded,” Harris said.
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