Man charged in shooting of two Los Angeles cops
LOS ANGELES: A man was charged yesterday with shooting two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies as they sat in a patrol car.
Footage of the Sept 12 ambush on the deputies outside a train station was broadcast nationwide and became part of the US presidential race after both President Donald Trump and Democratic contender Joe Biden called for the gunman to be dealt with harshly.
Deonte Lee Murray, 36, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
"We saw the worst of humanity. A cowardly act where a suspect ambushed and shot and attempted to kill two of our deputies," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
Murray, who was already in custody following his Sept 15 arrest on unrelated carjacking charges, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on US$6.15 million (S$8.4 million) bail by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Shultz.
Judge Shultz ordered sheriff's officials to investigate complaints by public defender Jack Keenan that Murray was being harassed by deputies assigned to guard him.
The graphic video footage, shot by a surveillance camera at the train station in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, shows a man walk up to the black-and-white squad car and fire a handgun through the passenger window. He is then seen fleeing on foot.
The deputies, identified only as a woman, 31, and a man, 24, both suffered gunshot wounds. Despite her injuries, the female deputy was able to help her partner to safety and apply a tourniquet to his wounded arm.
Both victims survived and have since been released from a Los Angeles area hospital. - REUTERS
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