LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The man apparently did not learn his lesson the first time around.
On Friday, June 12th at around 4:00 p.m., two Azusa PD officers were assigned to patrol the Edgewood Shopping Center because local residents had made complaints about people drinking in public in the area. That afternoon the two officers saw two men sitting in front of a business. One of the men was drinking from a container in a plastic bag, a clue that the drink was likely alcohol. The suspects spotted the officers, dropped the drink, and proceeded to walk away.
As they were leaving, the two officers confronted the suspects. They confirmed that the suspects had been drinking alcohol. Two additional officers were called to the scene to assist in arrested the two for public intoxication. One of the suspects was very intoxicated and would not go down without a fight. When the officers attempted to detain him. he refused to cooperate and ran off. The officers ran him down, but the suspect was still not done fighting them off. He then attempted numerous punches and kicks towards the officers.
As the officers continued to give commands to stop fighting, the man continued to attack them. According to the report, “At one point he unsuccessfully attempted to remove an officer’s TASER from its holster. He then grabbed the officer’s OC spray, successfully pulling it from the officer’s duty belt.” This was when the suspect crossed the line, and the officers hit the suspect multiple times. They finally arrested and handcuffed the suspect by applying two tasers on him, but he continued to struggle with the officers, despite being Tasered.
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Jose Jesus Juarez, had serious injuries from the fight. When paramedics arrived to treat his injuries, he was aggressive and belligerent towards them as well. Juarez was later treated at a local hospital, and was later released on a promise to appear in court. The June 12th incident was being investigated by the District’s Attorney Office for possible charges.
The second incident, which led to the shooting, occurred on Conwell Avenue.
Then on June 24th, Juarez was shot by Azusa police. The shooting occurred on the 5000 block of North Conwell Avenue at 11:30 p.m. According to KTLA5, “Officers from the Azusa Police Department were patrolling the area about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when they observed a male walking down the sidewalk on Conwell. The man, later identified as 45-year-old Azusa resident Jose Jesus Juarez, looked back at police, hid behind a vehicle and then took off, according to sheriff’s homicide investigator Eduardo Aguirre.”
Once again, Juarez found himself in a bad situation. Based on the suspicious activity, officers began to run Juarez down. He found a rake and threw it at the officers. He then grabbed a shovel, and began swinging it at the officers, hitting one of them in the chest. After non-lethal force was tried, firing Tasers and a beanbag shotgun, one of the threatened officers proceeded to shoot Juarez, firing at him multiple times, hitting him “at least once”.
Juarez was taken to a local hospital in stable condition and his injuries were not considered life threatening. His attorney said that he has three bullet wounds.
One of the officers involved in the shooting happened to be involved in the June 12th incident as well. Juarez’s attorney, Luis Carrillo, says he is suing the Azusa PD. He feels that the officers did not have the authorization to confront Juarez in the first place. Carrillo stated, ““Why did they stop him? The stop was totally illegal, against the Fourth Amendment, unjustified, and they were wrong.” However, the assault initiated by Juarez may jeopardize his defense.
The incidents are still being investigated. Anyone with information about the most recent incident is encouraged to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Read More: KTLA Channel 5
