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No charges for LAPD cops who fatally shot man on live TV

The shooting followed a nearly hour-long nighttime pursuit for alleged reckless driving that ended when the Corvette hit a car in an intersection

By Tami Abdollah
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors have declined to file charges against three Los Angeles police officers who fatally shot an unarmed, disabled man on live television after a car chase.

In a letter dated Jan. 29 that The Associated Press obtained through a public records request, prosecutors wrote that there was insufficient evidence to prove Officers Armando Corral, Leonardo Ortiz and Michael Ayala didn’t act in self-defense or the defense of others when they killed 51-year-old Brian Beaird on Dec. 13, 2013.

Chief Charlie Beck determined two months ago that the officers violated department rules for deadly force and their actions weren’t reasonable. The City Council approved payment of $5 million to Beaird’s family last year to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit.

The officers have been assigned home pending discipline without pay, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a department spokesman. The officers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The shooting followed a nearly hour-long nighttime pursuit for alleged reckless driving that ended when the Corvette hit a car in an intersection, seriously injuring the other driver, and then spun onto a downtown sidewalk.

Beaird’s father, Billy Beaird, watched live as his son, a National Guard veteran, staggered out of the Corvette, briefly raised his hands, was fatally shot multiple times in the front and back, and fell to the ground.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press

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