Vehicle Thief Sentenced for Knife Assault on Police Officers Near USC
Scene of shooting (LATIMES)
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has announced that Oscar Ovidio Diaz (32) entered a plea on October 23rd for his attack on police officers during an investigation of a possible stolen vehicle near the University of Southern California.
On October 27, 2015, around 4:30 PM, two LAPD Southwest Division officers made contact with a man near Magnolia Avenue and 27th Street, near USC, upon finding that the vehicle he was driving had been reported stolen. Diaz got out of the car and refused to comply with the officers’ orders.
The police announced that the suspect, who was armed with a knife and engaged in a verbal altercation with the officers, became physical when the officers attempted to detain him.
A scuffle ensued. Police later issued a statement indicating that the officers and the man fell to the ground and were fighting over a knife when the man tried to take an officer’s gun out of its holster. Diaz cut both officers as they tried to subdue him.
During the struggle, one of the officers shot and wounded Diaz. An officer-involved shooting was the result. The suspect was transported to hospital with critical injuries.
The two officers were also treated at a hospital for cuts, scrapes and bruises, according to the LAPD. Case BA441039 was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
As with all LAPD shootings, the incident was reviewed by the district attorney’s office, the Police Commission and its independent inspector general. The police vehicle’s dash camera footage was reviewed
Prosecutors noted the suspect’s prior convictions for burglary and driving or taking a vehicle without consent.
Diaz was originally charged with two felony counts of assault on a peace officer and one felony count of driving or taking a vehicle without consent after a prior conviction.
Deputy District Attorney Brendan Sullivan announced that Diaz pleaded no contest to one count of assault upon a peace officer. Diaz was immediately sentenced to five years in state prison.
