LA Tragedy

LOS Angeles police chief William Bratton has defended the actions of officers who gunned down a father and his baby daughter with what one witness said was "300 shots".The 19-month-old girl was shot and killed after her intoxicated father, Jose Raul Pena, 34, used her as a shield during a gun battle with police following a three-hour standoff, the Associated Press reported.
Mr Pena clutched the 19-month-old girl and fired a pistol as he charged out of a South Los Angeles apartment building at the end of the standoff, police said.
A special tactics police officer was shot in the shoulder during the gun battle in South Los Angeles, according to authorities. The officer is expected to recover.
"You aren't going to stand there with somebody shooting at you," Mr Bratton said in defence of his officers.
"The person responsible for any loss of life ... was the individual who held his child out as a shield and continued to shoot."
LA Police assistant chief Jim McDonnell had earlier said Mr Pena "was using the baby as a shield".
"Officers used as much restraint as humanly possible," Mr McDonnell said.
The 19-month-old child's mother, Lorena Lopez, said she had pleaded with officers to hold their fire.
"He had problems with depression, his business was not doing well," Ms Lopez said about her husband in an interview with KNBC-TV.
"I told (the police) that he needed help, he needs a psychologist, but please don't shoot. They didn't understand, and the police fired, like, 300 shots."
Police Lieutenant Paul Vernon said Mr Pena "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs and was quite despondent.
"He came out shooting randomly at the people out on the street as well as police officers," Lt Vernon said.
"At the time that he was firing those shots, he was holding a 19-month old baby in his arms.
"When officers fired in self-defence, the suspect went down, as well as the baby."
An autopsy to determine whether Mr Pena was high on drugs or alcohol is expected to take weeks.
An autopsy on the girl will determine whether she was killed by police bullets.
Police had laid siege to the apartment building after Mr Pena retreated inside after being seen outside holding a pistol and a baby late on Sunday, authorities said.
In May, 10 officers unleashed an estimated 120 rounds on an unarmed driver they had chased. The driver was wounded and several nearby houses hit with bullets.

Australian police have had to answer to many situations similar to this. They have also been guilty of unintentionally killing alleged offenders, some mentally ill,some who they thought were armed but not, all in the line of self defence. In Oz, the police are told to aim for the limbs, not to shoot to kill. In a situation such as the one above, i wonder what kind of action they would have taken. Aussie police have also been critiscsed for high speed car chases through suburban streets. A number of people have been killed by such actions.
Personally, i don't believe anyone would want to intentionally kill a tiny baby in this situation and I think the police do the best they possibly can in volitile situations.
Your thoughts...............
till next time, Michelle.