Roger Christopher Williams, L.A. Homicide No. 49: Man Fatally Shot by Police After Screaming and Waving Gun at Officers

Los Angeles Times

Roger Christopher Williams

On March 3, LAPD officers shot Roger Christopher Williams on the corner of Raymond and Florence avenuesin south L.A. Williams, a 41-year-old black man, drove his car up and started cursing at the officers, who were on assigned crime suspension detail and had stopped a pedestrian. He continued to yell obscenities as he exited the car while waving a semi-automatic handgun.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Williams then placed the gun on the roof of his car, which allowed the officer in the passenger seat of the station car to grab a rifle.

The police asked him to stop to screaming, but he persisted and then started to walk towards the armed officers.

When Williams allegedly reached for his waistband, officers opened fire and shot him several times in the chest. Paramedics arrived shortly after and pronounced him dead at the scene, said authorities.

Police recovered one semi-automatic handgun from the crime scene.

At the time of the incident, LAPD officials said the shooting would go through further investigation, which is normal procedure when police have to use force on suspects.

Note: Due to technical difficulties, the LA Weekly's archive of all homicides within Los Angeles city limits was discontinued near the end of last year. We will be rolling out the 2011 homicides, one by one, until our "Murder was the Case" archive is up to date. Thanks for your patience.