Even if the cases are eventually dropped, the LAPD’s decision to pursue charges against the two men is problematic, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at LMU Loyola Law School. While it might seem reasonable for an officer to mistake an object for a gun during a fast-moving encounter, for the department to insist on charging an apparently unarmed person after the fact could be seen as “trying to defend themselves in the court of public opinion or against any future actions that might come,” she said.
Source: Los Angeles Times
They Were Unarmed When Police Shot at Them. Then LAPD Pushed for Weapons Charges