LAPD Identifies Carjacking Suspect As 22-Year-Old San Bernardino Man

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/24/coroner-to-identify-double-carjacking-pursuit-suspect-killed-in-koreatown/ (click link for video)

KOREATOWN (CBS) — The Los Angeles Police Department identified a carjacking suspect Friday who was killed after a police pursuit ended in Koreatown Thursday night.

The suspect was identified as Shonchy Thaopraseuth, 22, of San Bernardino.


Shonchy Thaopraseuth (credit: the Thaopraseuth family)
LAPD officers fired more than 20 shots at Thaopraseuth, who led them to a Shell gas station near Wilshire and Vermont after he allegedly carjacked two vehicles.

The first vehicle , which was taken in San Bernardino at a gas station, ran out of fuel, which prompted the suspect to steal a Saturn in Lincoln Heights.


He then drove erratically from the 60 Freeway through downtown Los Angeles and onto the 101 Freeway.

At one point, he turned left at Highland, where Oscar preparations have streets blocked. Tourists along Hollywood Boulevard even snapped photos of him as he slowed for photo-ops.

Thaopraseuth then waved his gun in the air and led a long line of police patrol cars to the gas station, where Harry Hahn was filling up his car.

“My face was on the ground, that’s why I didn’t say anything. Then after two minutes, “Bang, bang bang bang!” Hahn told CBS2 about the terrifying ordeal.

The LAPD says they were the only ones who opened fire, but they were prompted to shoot when the suspect pointed his revolver at customers inside the gas station’s convenience store.

Anbody know if the dude was Cambodian?

yup i was thinking the same thing...paid??

Damn just got a chance to see the video clip, devastating to say the least. I wish u could see if he was pointing his gun as if he was gonna fire at the customers or if he was just holding it where they could see it. They really need to come up wit a better way to subdue people who they feel threatened by. It doesn't always have to end up wit somebody being shot.

nah he had no gun and for that many shot to be fired!
shit is ridiculous

Actually, he did have a gun. He was seen waving it out of the window and pointing it at people, but I agree about how many shots were fired. Extremely excessive and probably unwarranted.

mybad
still not an excuse for the amount of shots fired.

The problem is that EVERY cop fires 2-5 rounds each, but if there is 5-10 cops around, the number of bullets flying towards you gets high pretty quick. So there should really be a certain level of who can fire at the person, when that comes up, but they generally just allow each to "do what they feel they have to do" to drop the threat. Which is ALWAYS over the top. They shoot until you are dropped, nothing less, so HOPEFULLY you fall fast. Cops that arent even in the line of fire from the guy will fire, and THAT is the problem that i have with it. But they are protected by the law and the blue line, so, it is what it is...

People wont stand for that shit forever, folks will start to get tired of it and eventually if the cops don't do anything about it people will. These niggaz in Texas be on one, I hear about a lot of police shooting people but I also hear about a lot of police gettin shot or shot at. It's like they on sum wild wild west shit still. But I guess since the gun laws is so lax it's bound to be sum cowboy sheriff shit goin on.

Its funny though because cops are always complaining about how they react to feeling threatened but its their own faults for treating people so poorly that they have to watch their backs in the first place. Now everybody's on edge and its only getting worse (on both the cops end and the communities they are patrolling). I'm sort of glad that it is ATLEAST being caught on top so often now, because years ago, people was getting smoked by the cops and nobody cared or knew about it, outside the immediate area where it happened. So, atleast they are getting exposed, but at the same time, its putting cops on edge more too, lol, so everybody is losing. Actually, scratch that, the people are losing, the cops are only getting paid vacations (suspensions), if that, after they smoke somebody or if it was done as a group, they just go back to work like nothing happened, after they drop their statements. To me, honestly, the relationship between the cops and communities now-a-days is the same as it is with rival gangs. Its the lack of trust that makes you react to a quick hand gesture in a negative manner. So people get hurt. When you are on edge, and jumpy, with the lack of trust and TONS of images or knowledge, knowing that who you are dealing with has done some dirt to you or yours, its not a good mix or situation. But it is what it is.

Lots of people are upset about how this incident concluded. I do believe there was excessive force used here. This dude was carjacking folks at gun-point, true, but when he pulled into that last gas station, he had his back against the police and witness reports state that he was complying with police orders. His gun wasn't drawn, but they unleashed a hail of bullets on him regardless. Over 20 shots were fired into his vehicle.

Live by the gun..... die by the gun.