LAPD cops joked about overtime pay as they stood over dying man they had just shot: report
Video has surfaced showing Los Angeles Police officers joking about getting overtime as they stood beside a dying man they had just shot, the Los Angeles Times reported.
As the officers stood over the man, they laughed about how they'd be making extra money with the amount of paperwork they'd need to file regarding the shooting.
The video came to light as the LAPD investigated the shooting of Christian Arriola-Gomez, 24, in the city of Sylmar in August of 2022. The incident started when a resident called police about a man with a machete peering into the backyard of a home. When officers arrived at the scene, they ordered Arriola-Gomez to drop the machete, but he ignored them and rode away on a bicycle.
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Arriola-Gomez later returned and began yelling at the officers. When he advanced towards cops raising the machete, they opened fire, the report said.
While standing over the mortally wounded man, they started making “jokes regarding overtime as a result” of the shooting, according to a report on the incident.
"The officers received the department’s equivalent of a slap on the wrist: an employee comment card in their personnel files," the LA Times' report stated, adding that LAPD Chief Michel Moore ultimately ruled that the shooting did not violate department policy.
An LAPD spokesperson told the Times that the incident is still under investigation.