U.S. Marshal Who Shot, Killed Man After Drinking Investigated
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities are investigating a deputy U.S. marshal who shot and killed a man in Los Angeles two years ago after a night of drinking.
The Los Angeles Times says the FBI and the Justice Department are trying to determine whether Matthew Itkowitz violated the civil rights of 26-year-old Ryan Gonzalez.
Itkowitz was off-duty when he shot Gonzalez three times in the back after a fight behind a tattoo parlor in March of 2008. The marshal told police that Gonzalez was beating him and threatened him with a gun.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said his account didn't match footage from a surveillance camera that showed him firing after the fight. But prosecutors concluded they lacked the evidence to disprove his self-defense claim.
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