La Verne Police Officer and Suspect Wounded after Domestic Disturbance Call

A La Verne police officer was injured and a suspect shot and wounded after La Verne police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at about 3:20 a.m. Saturday in the 2400 block of Foothill Boulevard in La Verne.

The male adult and the officer were taken to local hospitals. The officer is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The male adult’s condition is unknown.

Deputy Charles Moore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, which is assisting the La Verne Police Department in the investigation, recounted the incident in an official statement.

“Upon the officers’ arrival, they were confronted by a male adult who had an unknown dark object in his hand,” Moore said. “A La Verne police officer believed the object was a weapon and ordered the male adult to drop the object. The male adult did not comply with the officer’s commands.

“The male adult continued to approach the officer and fearing for his safety, he (the police officer) fired at least one round at the male adult. After discharging his firearm, the officer determined the object in the male’s hand was not a weapon.”

However, after the suspect continued to move toward the officer “in a threatening manner,” the officer fired a Taser (a less lethal deterrent), but the man kept advancing despite repeated orders to halt.

“The male adult then reached toward his rear waistband area and made a threatening statement, which led the officer to believe the male adult was arming himself,” Moore said. “Fearing for his safety, the officer discharged his firearm several times at the male adult, striking him once in the upper torso area.”

It was during this discharge that a stray bullet struck an assisting officer in the lower torso.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

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According to a Sunday morning Facebook posting from the La Verne Police Department, the wounded La Verne police officer “is resting and recovering peacefully.”