Family Of Andres Guardado Demands Authorities Release Autopsy Results
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The family of an 18-year-old man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies earlier this month while working as a security guard for a Gardena auto body shop demanded Tuesday that the department release the teenager's autopsy report.
The controversial shooting death of Andres Guardado occurred on the evening of June 18, in the 400 block of Redondo Beach Boulevard.
Deputies patrolling in the area said they saw Guardado flash a gun and then run south between two businesses. Deputies gave chase, and after a short foot pursuit, Guardado was shot. He died at the scene.
Guardado was working as an informal security guard for the Freeway auto body shop at the time. According to LASD, deputies recovered a loaded, unregistered gun. They also say he was not licensed and was not wearing a uniform.
However, his family has repeatedly disputed the claim that he was armed.
"According to the family and best friends, he did not own a gun, did not have a gun, did not have access to a gun," family attorney Adam Shea said at Tuesday's news conference.
The family also claims witnesses told them Guardado was running from deputies when he was shot.
"We want to know where he was shot, and how many times he was shot," Shea said.
RELATED: Gardena, Compton Communities Unite On Behalf Of Andres Guardado, 18, Shot And Killed By LASD
The family is demanding that the coroner's report be released.
"Today is the thirteenth day since this incident occurred and we have no details, we have no reports," Guardado's father, Cristobal, said through a translator.
However, in a virtual Compton City Council meeting Monday, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that his investigators are still following leads from potential witnesses and cannot release any reports until those are complete.
"It can't be made public until all the witnesses have been identified and been interviewed. Otherwise, we're gonna taint their testimony and we're gonna have a compromised result," Villanueva said.
Shea claims LASD is simply stalling. Shea has sent formal requests to both L.A. County and LASD for information. He says if it doesn't come soon, the family will file a lawsuit.
"They (the sheriff's department) want this to go away, but it's not going to," Shea said.
Last week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pursue an independent review of the investigation.
