The family of an unarmed Oceanside man who was fatally shot by police following an hourlong chase in Los Angeles filed a $20 million claim Friday Dec. 20 against the Los Angeles Police Department.
Brian Newt Beaird, 51, was shot around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 not far from L.A.'s Staples Center. He was exiting a silver Corvette, which was badly damaged, smoking and wedged between two poles after crashing into another vehicle at the end of the chase.
Beaird died at the California Hospital Medical Center about 45 minutes after the chase ended, authorities said.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday the three officers involved, who fires 15 to 20 rounds during the shooting, had been placed on home duty pending the final results of the use-of-force investigation.
Beck said a beanbag round had also been deployed.
"After hearing the preliminary briefing, I am very concerned about the circumstances that led up to and resulted in this officer-involves shooting," Beck said. "Because of those concerns, I have directed that the three involved officers be assigned home pending the final results of the investigation. Determinations regarding training or possible disciplining of the involved officers will be made at that time."
Live television broadcasts on Dec. 13 showed the Corvette running numerous red lights and stop signs, and weaving as it sped through neighborhoods and commercial districts between Cudahy, southeast of Los Angeles, and the area near the Staples Center.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m., the Corvette slammed into a Nissan Maxima at East Olympic Boulevard and South Los Angeles Street, the video showed.
As the car's tires spun and smoked, the driver got out. He was then shot and collapsed on his back on a sidewalk.
The Corvette had been pursued by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol vehicles before the LAPD took over at 10:16 p.m., LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera said.
Lt. Josh Barton of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department East Los Angeles station said the chase began in Cudahy at 9:30 p.m., when deputies attempted to pull the driver over for drunken and reckless driving.
No weapon was recovered at the scene of the shooting, which is under investigation by the LAPD's Force Investigation Division, according to police.
One of two people in the car struck by the Corvette sustained a serious injury. No officers were injured.
Beaird was a National Guard veteran who had recently bought the Corvette, his brother told a Los Angeles TV station. During the chase Beaird called his family and said he couldn't understand why he was being pursued, his brother said, adding that efforts to pull him over were unsuccessful.
Bill Beaird, the victim's father, said his son had accumulated college credits, but had not graduated. Speaking at a news conference outside Los Angeles police headquarters Friday, he said his son "did not deserve something like this."
"He would have helped people, he wouldn't hurt people," Bill Beaird said. "I know he would have helped somebody who needed help. He was a wonderful, wonderful son."
Gilbert Vasquez, who identified himself as a lifelong friend, told a TV reporter that Brian Beaird suffered from schizophrenia.
Reported by City News Service
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