A university police officer who shot and wounded a man in
Kerckhoff Hall on Sunday night did so after the man attempted to
seize the officer’s gun, said a Los Angeles Police Department
detective investigating the incident.
The officer involved in the shooting was placed on
administrative leave as part of UCPD’s standard
procedure.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department identified the
injured suspect as 52-year-old Willie Davis Frazier.
LAPD Detective Jay Moberly, who works in the homicide and
robbery division and is investigating the case, said Frazier
remained hospitalized at the UCLA Medical Center as of Monday night
but that his condition was not life threatening.
The UCPD officer encountered Frazier while patrolling in the
Kerckhoff Hall study lounges, police say. Frazier, who was
trespassing and identified as neither a UCLA student, nor a staff
or faculty member, became “belligerent, uncooperative and
combative,” Moberly said.
A physical altercation ensued between Frazier and the officer,
in which Frazier attempted to gain control of the officer’s
gun, said Moberly.
The first shot was fired while the officer and Frazier were
struggling for control of the weapon, according to Moberly, and the
officer fired the second shot after Frazier tried to assault the
officer with the officer’s baton. Moberly said the officer,
who was “just trying to do his job,” was “lucky
to be alive.”
“He had no choice, basically,” said Moberly.
Both LAPD and UCPD refused to release the name of the officer
involved in the incident. UCPD would not release the victim’s
name or describe the circumstances of the incident.
Under the California Public Records Act, law enforcement
officials are required to release the names and addresses of all
persons involved in an incident unless the information released
could affect the outcome of an ongoing investigation.
When asked, a UCPD officer did not explain how releasing the
names of the persons involved in the shooting would affect the
investigation.
Police shut down Kerckhoff Hall shortly before midnight after
the incident occurred on Sunday, and asked all occupants to leave
the building.
Much of the building remained blocked off through the early
morning, and Kerckhoff Coffee House Manager José Ramirez said
police were still on the scene when he arrived for work Monday
morning.
Ramirez said though the police did not leave until about 9:30
a.m., the coffeehouse opened on time at 7 a.m.
Many students who were studying in Kerckhoff Hall on Monday
night said they felt inadequately informed about the shooting. Some
students who were asked about the incident said it was the first
time they had heard about it.
“I’m kind of torn. If I knew (about the incident), I
wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting here,” said
third-year psychobiology student Maria Raissa Corella.
“But it’s also like I want to know. It happened on
my campus ““ don’t I have the right to know what’s
going on?” she added.
Students working and studying in Kerckhoff said UCPD did not
inform them about the shooting, and as of Monday night, no fliers
or other postings about the incident were placed on campus.
And though all indications show that this shooting is an
isolated occurrence, campus officials are taking note of the
incident.
Associated Students of UCLA Director Patricia Eastman said
ASUCLA, which operates the Kerckhoff study lounges, is examining
how to better enforce security in Kerckhoff Hall. She said access
to the study lounges is restricted to UCLA students, faculty and
staff.
“As we get more details of exactly what happened,
I’ll be working with my staff and UCPD about ways to increase
safety in all the student union facilities,” she said.
With reports from Robert Salonga and Narges Zohoury, Bruin
Senior Staff.