‘HOMICIDE’

L.A. Coroner: Deputy Shot Teen Andres Guardado Five Times in the Back

The coroner released the autopsy—which deemed the teen’s death a homicide—despite a security hold on the document.

The Los Angeles County coroner on Friday released the autopsy report for a teenager fatally shot last month by an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy, despite a security hold placed over the document. Andres Guardado, 18, was shot in the back five times and suffered two additional graze wounds to both of his arms during the June 18 incident, the report states. All five gunshot wounds were sustained while deputies on patrol chased Guardado on foot. The deputies have said they pursued the teenager, who worked as an informal security guard for an auto body shop, because he flashed a gun at them and ran between two buildings. The sheriff’s department states that after Guardado was shot, deputies recovered an unregistered handgun loaded with a large-capacity magazine—though his family claims was unarmed.

“After careful thought and deliberation, I am releasing the autopsy report of Andres Guardado Pineda,” L.A. County Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas said in a Friday statement about his decision to release the report despite the security hold. “In doing so, I have given careful consideration to the major variables in this case—supporting the administration of justice, as well as the public’s right to know. I do not believe that these are mutually exclusive ideals. Both are important, particularly amid the ongoing national discussion about race, policing, and civil rights. I believe that the government can do its part by being more timely and more transparent in sharing information that the public demands and has a right to see.”