For the first time in nearly 20 years, a Los Angeles County law enforcement officer, Sheriff's deputy Luke Liu, has been charged with killing an unarmed civilian while on duty, 34 months ago

L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, who was elected in 2012, has faced repeated criticism for declining to bring charges in shootings by officers during her years in office.

Lacey said the use of force in this case was not reasonable — the critical factor that often determines whether an officer is charged with shooting someone.

Sheriff’s department policy says deputies should not fire at stationary or moving vehicles unless a person in the vehicle is imminently threatening someone with deadly force using something other than the vehicle itself.

Garcia was in a vehicle that Liu believed may have been stolen, at a Norwalk gas station on Feb. 24, 2016

Liu stood near the driver's side door before walking to the rear of the car, according to prosecutors. When Liu returned to the driver's side door, Garcia, 26, began driving away at approximately 5 mph, prosecutors said.

Liu reported seeing Garcia’s right hand reaching into the back seat (of course, clearly inventing a reason he had to shoot the suspect) and feared he was grabbing a firearm, the sheriff’s department report says. As Garcia pulled away, the car hit Liu in both knees, (another reason to shoot the suspect? There is no mention of evidence that this factually occured) according to the report.

Liu drew his service weapon, ran alongside the car and fired seven shots at Garcia, who was struck four times and killed, according to prosecutors.

"We believe the officer's use of deadly force was unjustified and unreasonable under the circumstances," she said. "There is an inherent danger for law enforcement officers every time they put on the uniform. We applaud their dedication and bravery to make split-second decisions in potentially life-threatening situations. But we also must hold them accountable when their conduct is unlawful."

11 months later the case was presented by sheriff’s homicide investigators to prosecutors on Jan. 31, 2017.

26 months after the shooting, in April 2018, the county paid $1.75 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Garcia, who worked at a moving company.

Although about 1,500 officer shootings have occurred since 2000, none had faced prosecution since LAPD Officer Ronald Orosco was accused of shooting an unarmed motorist in the back in September 2000 during a dispute over a traffic citation. Orosco pleaded no contest to a felony charge of shooting into an occupied vehicle. The motorist survived. Orosco was sentenced to five years in prison.

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-deputy-charged-20181211-story.html