Hector Becerra and Ruben Vives /LA Times
Long Beach police officers shot a man late Thursday after responding to a call of an assault. It turns out, the man holding the cleaver turned out to be the person who reported the attack.
An officer arrived at a residence around 11:20 p.m. after receiving a 911 call, and as the officer approached the front door, “a male exited the residence holding a meat cleaver in a threatening manner and confronted the officer.”
The officer then gave the suspect several commands to drop the meat cleaver, but the man refused to comply and the officer shot him.
A Vietnamese man is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The man, identified as Hung Doan Nguyen, 45, was taken to a hospital, where he was described as being in stable condition. Nguyen lived in the residence where the shooting happened and will be booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer.
A 45-year-old man refused to drop a meat cleaver and was shot by a Long Beach Police officer. (Photo: Long Beach Police Department)
After a preliminary investigation, it was determined that Nguyen called an emergency dispatcher to say that he had been the victim of an assault and needed paramedics. Authorities say they are unsure if Nguyen was waving the meat cleaver at the officer or if there was a language barrier between the two.
There have been eight officer-involved shootings in Long Beach this year. Long Beach police are asking anyone with information about the incident Nguyen reported to call the department’s homicide detail at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips can be submitted at (800) 222-8477
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-long-beach-meat-cleaver-shooting-20151127-story.html
