It was supposed to be a typical trip to the store. Something each and every one of us does on a daily basis. Just a simple trip to the store, be back later. See you then. No one expects chaos, no one expects the trip to turn out so tragic. No one expects to die.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta was a 14-year-old young lady with her life ahead of her. She was enjoying a simple shopping trip with her mother. It was supposed to be, in the spirit of the season, a joyous occasion. Unbeknownst to either of them, LAPD was trialing Daniel Lopez, after reports came in Lopez was carrying a gun and threatening shoppers. Moments of terror are caught on police body cam as LAPD follows the suspect throughout the store. Early reports had been phoned into 9-1-1 about the man's erratic behavior, which soon devolved in his attacks on several women, and an attempt to use his bicycle as a weapon. Turns out, Lopez never had a gun, and witness reports citing such turned out to be mistaken. While this went on, Valentina was in a dressing room with her mother. According to reports, she was trying on different dresses and getting her mother's opinion.
LAPD arrived on scene, and went into instant combat mode. Something you'd expect to see in a Hollywood film. Guns drawn and at the ready, as the cops made their way through the store in such of the suspect. One officer, armed with a rifle, demanded that he take point. Some officers had less lethal weapons in their hands. They discussed what weapons to use as Lopez continued his trek through the store. Then the moment came where he was tracked by an LAPD officer. Though other officers had given such commands as "slow down" and "hold up" to the officer in pursuit, he either ignored them, or for unknown reasons, could not hear them. And as he caught up to Lopez, the officer, according to Body Worn Cam footage, opened fire on Lopez, killing him. And in turn, murdered young Valentina Orellana-Peralta. No commands were given by the officer, he just opened fire. With the woman Lopez is shown to have attacked, less than a few feet away from the officer as he opened fire. Once again, the officer showed no regard for bystanders.
As they would say in some court room on T.V., those are the facts of the case. Of course, now, the usual steps have been taken. LAPD announced that an investigation is now in place, and the findings would be sent to a civilian review board. They would act based on the police chief's recommendation. And people wonder why there is so little faith in these review boards. From what I've gathered so far, there was no attempt from the officers on scene to secure the bystanders. The officers seemed locked on their target, which was Lopez. And no one is saying that Lopez was not a bad actor. he clearly had some mental issues; they cause of which is lost to history considering he's dead. I've watched the B.W.C. and the officer in question is clearly being warned by the other officers to slow down and not rush in. The officer in question ignored them, or just tuned them out when he saw Lopez assaulting a woman. Once again, the B.W.C shows the officer in question opening fire on Lopez. A stray bullet from that encounter is what takes the life of Valentina Orellana-Peralta.
Now, there's quite a few things here. I am curious what training the officers are given in regards to how they handle not only armed suspects, but armed suspects with clear emotional issues. I'm willing to bet that none of that was followed here by the officer in question. What thing people need to understand is that the citizens want officers that are properly trained, can cope with high stress situations. They don't want cops that come with racial bias and they sure don't want cops who treat events like this as if they were on a T.V. show or some Hollywood film. We've evolved from the "shoot first, ask questions second" mentality that plagued us for centuries. And let's be blunt, this isn't the first time that L.A.P.D tactics have bene called into question. In 2018, L.A.P.D. officers shot and killed Melyda Corado, an assistant store manager at Trader Joe's. L.A.P.D had been in pursuit of a suspect, who ended up crashing his car into the store. Corado was attempting to exit the store when officers opened fire on her. Once again, simply just re-acting with little or no regard to any innocent people.
It's tough to keep emotions in check when something like this happens. It's even tougher when said event takes the life of a young child. Now, there are some out there that want to simply lay the blame at the feet of Lopez, citing that he just should have complied. Not only is that the wrong way to look at the events, it's also inhumane. Orellana-Peralta's death has already been ruled a homicide and I fully expect the officer who opened fire to be charged with a crime. This isn't a case on kneeling on a person's neck and ignoring all concerns about his well-being. This isn't a case of mistaking a gun for a taser. In this case, the officer involved was ordered by his fellow officers to "Slow down", "Hold Up". He essentially was ordered not to engage Daniel Lopez, and he opted to do so anyways. I know there are also those that are going to cite the officer's concern for the well-being of the woman Lopez was assaulting. And one could argue that aggressive tactics could have put her in greater risk. Which once again is why the officer in question was essentially being order to pull back and not directly engage.
No apology is going to bring back Valentina Orellana-Peralta. Not even an acknowledgment of the reckless actions by the officer involved in the shooting. Maybe this will be the moment that even the most adornment of supporter of law enforcement will finally admit that yes, there is a problem. Yes, there are things that need to be addressed. That much is clear. If we don't address this issue, we're just going to have more innocent victims like Valentina Orellana-Peralta. Now it's up to a review board, and then most likely, off to the courts. And even after this story fades from the headlines, nothing will ever ease the grief of the Orellana-Peralta family. Hopefully, she wouldn't have died in vain. Finally, we can finally have the police reform we've begged for so long.
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