DAVID POWELL
      11-30-02
Sunday, December 01, 2002 
Local deputy shot to death
CRIME: Torrance resident based at the Lakewood Sheriff's Station was investigating a report of gunfire in Artesia.
By The Associated Press

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who lived in Torrance was shot and killed Saturday after a bullet passed through an opening in his protective vest, authorities said.
Deputy David Powell, 42, an 18-year veteran of the department, died at 11:54 a.m., about 90 minutes after he was hit while investigating reported gunshots in Artesia.
"There's no easy way to describe the death of a deputy sheriff other than to say we're in mourning," Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Powell, who was born May 27, 1960, attended Serra High School in Gardena, El Camino College and Loyola Marymount University.
He is survived by his wife, Emma; his parents; a twin brother; four daughters; and seven grandchildren.
More than nine hours after the shooting at a home, a suspect was found dead inside the house from a gunshot wound, authorities said.
After negotiators were unable to reach anyone inside the house, tear gas was fired into the home Saturday night and authorities found the dead suspect, who has not been identified, said Sgt. Ken Davidson, a spokesman for the sheriff's department.
"We're not sure whether the person was the shooter who shot the deputy or not," Davidson said. "The person suffered a gunshot wound but we don't know if it's self-inflicted or not."
Powell, who was assigned to the Lakewood Station, and other deputies went to the house near 167th Street and Elaine Avenue in Artesia about 10:30 a.m. after receiving reports of gunfire. As they drove up, they saw a man dart inside.
They heard screaming and then spied the man holding a woman hostage, sheriff's Capt. Ray Leyva said. Powell tried to kick in the front door but failed on his first try, Leyva said.
As Powell prepared to try again, someone inside fired two shots from a handgun. One pierced Powell's right arm, passed through an opening in his bulletproof vest and struck him in the chest.
"His partner fired once into the house, then grabbed Dave and dragged him from the house," Leyva said.
He drove Powell a block away, where paramedics began treating him. He was then taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and was pronounced dead.
After the shooting, the woman ran from the house unharmed, Leyva said.
A man who was in the area where the shooting occurred was taken into custody, but it was later found that he was not involved in the shooting, officials said.
Powell had worked at the Lakewood Station since 1988. Before that, he was assigned to the Firestone Park Sheriff's Station (1987-88); Pitchess Detention Center (1984-87); and the Men's Central Jail (1984).
"After he became a deputy, (Powell) found that his second love was teaching," Baca said.
Baca said Powell would talk to young people about crime and drugs and his message was: "Just don't do it."






FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPUTY DAVID POWELL ARE AS FOLLOWS:

VIEWING:      THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002
             1600 - 2000 HOURS
             LAWNDALE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
             4234 WEST 147TH STREET
             LAWNDALE, CALIFORNIA (310) 644-2236
             2001 THOMAS GUIDE PAGE 733, D4

FUNERAL:      FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2002 @ 1100 HOURS
             CALVARY CHAPEL (DOWNEY)
             12808 SOUTH WOODRUFF AVENUE
             DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA  90242
             2001 THOMAS GUIDE PAGE 736, D1

INTERNMENT:       IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING SERVICE

                 PACIFIC CREST CEMETARY
                 2701 182ND STREET
                 REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA  90278
                 2001 THOMAS GUIDE PAGE 763, C1
                 (310) 370-5891

DEPUTY POWELL'S FAMILY HAS REQUESTED THAT ANY FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS BE DELIVERED TO THE CALVARY CHAPEL ON THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL.

SHERIFF RELIEF FUND #420 HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR PERSONS WISHING TO MAKE DONATIONS TO DEPUTY POWELL'S FAMILY.

PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS TO LAKEWOOD STATION OPERATIONS AT (562)
866-9061
 
 
        
DEPUTY DAVID ALAN POWELL  
DATE OF BIRTH: 5/27/60 (Torrance CA)   END OF WATCH: 11/30/02  
JOINED THE DEPARTMENT: January, 1984   ACADEMY CLASS: 221  
ASSIGNMENTS: Lakewood Sheriff's Station   1988 to present  
                         
Firestone Park Sheriff' Station   1987 to 1988  
Pitchess Detention Center   1984 to 1987  
Men's Central Jail   1984 to 1984  

RESIDENT: Torrance, CA    
EDUCATION: Serra High School, Gardena
Additional Course Work: El Camino College-Loyola Marymount University
 
MARRIED:  Emma Powell    
CHILDREN: Four Daughters and seven grandchildren    
        
     

INFORMATION ON INCIDENT AND INVESTIGATION:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF LEE BACA ANNOUNCED THAT DEPUTY DAVID POWELL, AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR VETERAN ASSIGNED TO LAKEWOOD STATION, DIED FROM INJURIES THAT HE SUSTAINED DURING A DEPUTY INVOLVED SHOOTING.

SHERIFF'S HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS ARE STILL CONTINUING THEIR INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEPUTY INVOLVED SHOOTING THAT TOOK PLACE 1050 HOURS SATURDAY MORNING.

SHERIFF BACA PERSONALLY OFFERED HIS CONDOLENCES TO POWELL'S WIFE EMMA, AND THEIR FOUR DAUGHTERS AND SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN.
POWELL WAS FORTY TWO YEARS OLD AND A RESIDENT OF TORRANCE CALIFORNIA.
FUNERAL SERVICES ARE PENDING.

THE ORIGINAL CALL OF SHOTS FIRED CAME FROM 11935 165TH STREET, NORWALK.
DEPUTIES FROM BOTH LAKEWOOD AND NORWALK STATIONS RESPONDED TO 167TH STREET AND ELAINE AVENUE, ARTESIA TO INVESTIGATE THE REPORT THAT SHOTS WERE FIRED AT NUMEROUS HOMES IN THE AREA.

DEPUTIES HAD INFORMATION THAT A HOSTAGE WAS POSSIBLY BEING HELD AT THE LOCATION. AN AREA CONTAINMENT WAS SET UP AND DEPUTIES BEGAN TO SEARCH FOR THE POSSIBLE SHOOTERS. A GROUP OF DEPUTIES POSITIONED THEMSELVES NEAR THE LOCATION AND POWELL MOVED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. DURING THEIR SEARCH, SHOTS RANG OUT AND DEPUTY POWELL WAS HIT IN THE UPPER TORSO.

WHEN DEPUTY POWELL ARRIVED,HE SAW A FEMALE SITTING INSIDE THE LOCATION. POWELL BELIEVING SHE WAS BEING HELD AGAINST HER WILL, KICKED THE FRONT DOOR OPEN IN AN ATTEMPT TO FREE HER. AS THE FEMALE, RAN FROM THE LOCATION, SEVERAL ROUNDS WERE FIRED FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE STRIKING POWELL IN THE RIGHT ARM. THE SINGLE ROUND TRAVELED THROUGH HIS ARM DOWN THE SEAM OF HIS PROTECTIVE VEST AND ENTERED HIS CHEST CAVITY. POWELL WAS TRANSPORTED TO SAINT FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER WHERE HE DIED FROM HIS INJURIES.

A SHERIFF'S SPECIAL WEAPONS TEAM ENTERED 12054 EAST 167TH STREET, ARTESIA,. AFTER A CRISIS NEGATION TEAM WAS UNABLE TO CONTACT THE OCCUPANTS, TEAR GAS WAS INTRODUCED INTO THE LOCATION PRIOR TO THE SPECIAL WEAPONS TEAM ENTRY. ONCE INSIDE, A DEAD BODY WAS LOCATED. THE CAUSE OF DEATH OF THE ADUL T MALE IS NOT CLEAR AT THIS TIME. AND ARE NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM IF THE BODY IS THAT OF THE PERSON WHO FATALLY SHOT DEPUTY POWELL.

THE SUSPECT THAT WAS FOUND DEAD IN THE REAR HOUSE OF 12054 EAST 167TH STREET, WAS IDENTIFIED AS ALBERTO REYES, A 21-YEAR OLD, OF IRVINE. THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF HIS DEATH WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY CORONERS OFFICE.

THE SECOND SUSPECT, THAT WAS LOCATED IN A SHED ON ARKANSAS AVENUE, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS ROBERT HERNANDEZ, A 22-YEAR OLD, OF BUENA PARK. HERNANDEZ WAS BOOKED AT CERRITOS SHERIFFS STATION FOR BURGLARY AND IS BEING HELD LIEU $30,000 BAIL.

THERE IS NO FURTHER INFORMATION AT THIS TIME.
        





Funeral Services For Slain Deputy Friday
Deputy Was Responding To 'Shots Fired' Call

POSTED: 8:20 a.m. PST December 6, 2002
UPDATED: 10:39 a.m. PST December 6, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- Funeral services will be held Friday for David Powell, one of four Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies killed in the line of duty in the last 22 months.

Powell, 42, was among deputies sent to an Artesia neighborhood about 10:30 a.m. Saturday in response to a "shots fired" call. Authorities were reportedly after Alberto Reyes, 21, for a non-injury gang- related shooting after witnesses reported seeing the suspect run to a converted garage at 12054 E. 167th St. Two women inside reportedly escaped with the help of a relative as a gunman holed up in their home. Powell, an 18-year veteran, attempted to kick in a door but backed off and was struck by a bullet as a gunman inside fired four rounds through the door, according to sheriff's Detective Charles Morales.

"The officer was retreating after attempting to kick the door open, they're stepping back away from the threshold there, a little patio area, and as they back away, that's when he got shot, exposing his right side to suspect," Morales said. Although the deputy was wearing a protective vest, a bullet went "right through the shoulder and into vital organs," he said.
Deputies returned fire as Powell was pulled away and taken to a Lynwood hospital, where he died 90 minutes later.

More than nine hours after the shootout, Special Weapons Team deputies stormed the residence and found Reyes' body. The Irvine resident had been shot in the midriff by deputies before crouching down and shooting himself in the head, apparently with the same handgun he used to kill Powell. "It looks like he was standing when he shot the officers," Morales said. "Apparently he was shot, then sat down, he's almost in a sitting position. He shot himself in the head." A coroner's investigation into Reyes' exact cause of death -- including whether the fatal bullet came from a deputy or himself -- is continuing, a coroner's official said.

Powell, who lived in Torrance, is survived by his wife, Emma, their adopted 7-year-old daughter and three adult stepdaughters. The funeral is planned for 11 a.m. at Calvary Chapel at 12808 Woodruff Ave. in Downey. Burial will follow at Pacific Crest Cemetery, 2701 West 182nd St., Redondo Beach. Starting at 10 a.m., Woodruff Avenue between the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway and Imperial Highway will be closed until a motorcade leaves the chapel, authorities said. At 12:30 p.m. Imperial Highway will be closed between Woodruff Avenue and the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway until the procession has left the area.

In Redondo Beach, Inglewood Avenue between the San Diego (405) Freeway and West 182nd Street will be closed as the procession moves through. Inglewood between 182nd and Artesia Boulevard will remain closed during the interment. On Monday Gov. Gray Davis ordered the flag above the Capitol lowered to half staff until Powell's funeral is completed.

"Deputy Sheriff Powell was a heroic police officer who gave his life so we can live in freedom," Davis said. During his second-term swearing in Monday, Sheriff Lee Baca lamented the recent losses of four of his deputies. Deputy David March, 33, was fatally shot April 29 by a man he stopped in Irwindale for a traffic violation. Deputy Hagop "Jake"Kuredjian, 40, was killed Aug. 31, 2001, while helping serve a search warrant in Stevenson Ranch, just west of Santa Clarita. And Deputy Brandon Hinkle, 33, was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car in Diamond Bar while he was on duty on Feb. 14, 2001. "These four deputy sheriffs gave their all for the county of Los Angeles, the state of California and America," Baca said.
Copyright 2002 by NBC4.tv. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Deputy Powell  Relief Fund

Make checks payable to "Sheriff's Relief Foundation #420" and
send to:
Sheriff's Relief Association
11515 S. Colima Rd.
Whittier, CA 90604
Send stories about Powell while he was at Firestone.
send to;   fpk11a@pacbell.net
7-23-04  UPDATE ON DEPUTY POWELL MURDER

The previous report of the tragic death of Dave is basically correct however a few important things that were initially put out really should be corrected. Also, an update to initial information is now possible.

When Deputies arrived they made contact with people running in the driveway at the location. They indicated to the Deputies that the suspect was in the rear residence and gave the impression that a female victim was being held captive in that building. In reality the female in question had just escaped and was exiting the area with the group but the Deputies were not aware of that fact. Upon reaching the residence Deputies did not see a female as previously reported, but they did see the male suspect thru a small clouded glass window in the door. They attempted to contact that male unsuccessfully. Believing that this male was now moving to a position to harm the woman thought to be held captive, Deputies attempted to kick the door at which time the suspect fired thru the door striking Dave. Another Deputy returned fire into the door striking the suspect with a fatal, but not immediately killing round. No one exited the house after the shooting. As additional Deputies arrived and contained the residence one additional shot was faintly heard from inside. That additional shot was later determined to be a result of the wounded suspect committing suicide. Deputy Powell was transported to the hospital via ambulance with a radio car escort coupled with a route clearing effort which could only be classified as heroic in it's self.

In updating the status of the second suspect, he was held for other matters pending and after extensive investigation and an in depth review by the District Attorney's Office over a several month period, was not charged in Dave's death.

Investigation of the handgun found with the deceased suspect revealed that it fired the bullet that killed David, the bullet that the suspect committed suicide with and the shell casings found at the beginning of the incident on 165th Street.  


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10-22-05

California Police Officer Memorial