A man was killed by police in an officer-involved shooting last Thursday.
At about 4:11 p.m., Redondo Beach police responded to a call about a man with a gun near the 2500 block of Gates Avenue. En route, they were told the suspect was chasing and shooting at another person in the area. After officers arrived on scene, a shooting occurred, and the suspect was wounded once in the torso.
It was then that officers discovered that the suspect was wielding an airsoft pellet gun.
Sergio Acosta, 24, of Redondo Beach, was treated at the scene before being transported to the hospital, where he pronounced dead.
The case was handed off to the LA County Sheriff’s Department for investigation shortly after the shooting, in accordance with Redondo Beach Police Department policy.
Police declined to name the officer involved in the shooting.
According to RBPD Chief Keith Kauffman, the policy was established to allow for a third-party opinion and to increase transparency by preventing the department from investigating itself.
Standard procedure in officer-involved shootings, he said, is to place the officer on administrative leave and send them to a police psychologist as facts are gathered. If the shooting is found to be within policy, the officer can return to duty.
