LAPD Footage From Trader Joe's Shooting Shows Officers Taking Fire
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) -- The family of a bystander accidentally killed by police when they tried to stop an armed man from entering a Los Angeles grocery store is blasting newly released video of the incident, saying it's crafted to paint officers in the best light.
The Los Angeles Police Department released more footage of the July shooting Tuesday, showing officers chasing suspect Gene Atkins after they say he shot his grandmother and kidnapped his girlfriend.
The video includes about six minutes of footage from the 14-minute car chase, the ensuing shootout with police outside a Trader Joe's, and the hours-long standoff inside the store.
Lawyers representing the family of 27-year-old Melyda "Mely" Corado, the store manager killed by police, called the video a "slanted public relations piece" and blasted the department's alleged refusal to turn over requested video and documents.
"We are devastated by her loss," Corado's father, Albert, told reporters at a downtown Los Angeles news conference with his attorneys. "We have many questions about how Mely died, but we don't have any answers. We are here to ask the Los Angeles Police Department to turn (over) evidence so we can move on with our lives."
A department spokesman didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore previously apologized to the Corado family after revealing that she was killed by an officer's bullet. But he has spoken out in support of his officers' actions, saying they were under fire and did "what they needed to do in order to defend the people of Los Angeles and defend the people in that store and defend themselves."
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
