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Police On The Hot Seat In Long Beach With Public Outraged Over Recent Shootings

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com)  — Police in Long Beach were on the hot seat Thursday evening as residents asked questions about recent shootings.

There have been four officer-involved shootings in Long Beach in 2015.

KCAL9's Rachel Kim attended the forum between authorities and the public.

The town hall meeting was held at Church One. The meeting was held to strengthen the relationship between Long Beach police and the community, police said.

On the minds of many people, the most recent incident: the fatal shooting of unarmed honors student Feras Morad, 20.

That's the reason Ruben Morejon and Kareem Morad were there.

"We want a transparent investigation!" said Morejon.

Morejon's 19-year-old brother, Hector, was shot and killed by a Long Beach police officer who responded to reports of people trespassing and vandalizing a vacant apartment in April. Police say when they arrived, an officer believed Morejon was pointing a gun at him. That's when the officer opened fire.

"He was unarmed; the officers didn't give him a warning. There was no weapon recovered," said Morejon.

Morad spoke on behalf of his cousin. In May, the nationally ranked debate champ who attended Moorpark College was shot and killed in a confrontation with police. Family members say Morad was in Long Beach to study for a debate and had ingested mushrooms. He had a bad reaction and jumped out of a second-story window. Police say when an officer arrived, Morad continued to advance toward him despite being ordered to stop. That's when police say the officer used a stun gun, then an "impact weapon," and finally a gun.

Town Hall Long Beach
Police were on the hot seat in Long Beach Thursday with the public asking tough questions about recently officer-involved shootings. (credit: CBS)

"I want to ask why they think it's OK to use lethal force on unarmed people. There needs to be a change in the Police Department's culture," said Morad.

Chief Robert Luna was asked by Kim if there was anything he could say about the cases involving Hector Morejon or Feras Morad.

"Just that they're being thoroughly investigated. In both cases, we still have shooting review boards that are moving forward, but I understand the community is frustrated," Luna said.

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