A report by the county monitor says that such shootings leave the Sheriff’s Department vulnerable to criticism. His report also found an increase in shootings in which deputies did not see a weapon before firing. By Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times – Almost half the people shot at by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after reaching toward their waistbands turned out to be unarmed, according to a study released Thursday. “Waistband shootings” are particularly controversial because the justification for the shootings can conceivably be fabricated after the fact, according to the county monitor’s report, which was commissioned by the county Board of Supervisors and which analyzed six years of shooting data. The monitor was careful to point out that…[For full story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-unarmed-shootings-20110923,0,2452551.stor y ]
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New report: Half of Los Angeles County deputies’ ‘waistband shootings’ involve unarmed people