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LAPD officer broke policy with final two shots that killed 38-year-old, Police Commission rules

Body camera footage shows the shooting of Daniel Hernandez by LAPD officer Toni McBride in downtown L.A. on April 22. (LAPD)

The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled Tuesday that LAPD Officer Toni McBride broke department policy when she continued shooting Daniel Hernandez during a fatal encounter in April — deciding McBride’s first four shots were justified, but her fifth and sixth shots were not.

Hernandez had been involved in a vehicle collision on San Pedro Street near East 32nd Street on April 22 when McBride and her partner arrived on the scene. Video showed McBride repeatedly advised Hernandez to drop a box cutter that he was holding as he approached her, then shot him six times in a matter of seconds.

Hernandez went down to the asphalt after the first two shots, but quickly pushed himself up and forward again. McBride then fired four more rounds — the final two coming as Hernandez was on the ground.

The commission’s decision in the controversial case — which it made in a rare 4-1 split vote — matched the recommendation of staff in the LAPD inspector general’s office who reviewed the shooting, but broke with that of LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who had recommended that all six shots be found justified.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.