More than four hours after the LAPD shot and killed a man on Wednesday morning, just up the street from the OG Carnitas Michoacan on Broadway in Lincoln Heights, they offered few details about the shooting. While addressing four reporters and camera people, some of whom had been waiting hours for an update, Lieutenant Letisia Ruiz, a spokesperson for the LAPD, alleged that the man “produced a handgun” and pointed it at officers before they returned fire. At the end of the briefing, Lt. Ruiz held up a digital photo printed on an 8 x 12 sheet of paper of the alleged “handgun.” However, she could not confirm if the gun was real or not. "It's still under investigation," she said when pressed on the issue.
Two hours later, L.A. TACO confirmed with LAPD Chief Michel Moore that the alleged “handgun” described by Lt. Ruiz was not in fact a firearm. “I’m told the item is a replica handgun (possible air pistol),” Chief Moore wrote in an email. Moore did not respond to a followup email asking approximately when he was briefed on the shooting. Roughly seven hours after the fatal shooting, the LAPD publicly acknowledged that the reported firearm was a “pellet gun” on Twitter. As of publishing they have not posted a news release on their official website.
During a follow up interview this morning, Lt. Ruiz said that at the time of the press conference yesterday, it was not confirmed that the handgun was a “pellet gun.” The Lieutenant also defended the decision to show reporters the photo of the alleged handgun before confirming if it was real or not. “I don’t believe [it was] misleading,” she said. “Maybe the information wasn’t provided as quickly as citizens want but there’s a process.”
“There’s no effort to hide anything,” she said.