A man wielding a machete near downtown Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena was fatally shot by police, with the bodycam footage of the incident now public. The confrontation occurred on July 13, when LAPD officers responded after receiving reports of the man, later identified as 35-year-old Gurpreet Singh, waving the blade in the street, as per ABC7. Callers described Singh stopping his car at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard, alighting to swing the weapon at passersby.
Police say that Singh seemed to cut his own tongue with the machete in the bodycam footage. Despite multiple commands from the responding officers to drop the weapon, Singh did not comply, instead retrieving a water bottle from his vehicle and throwing it at them. Fleeing the scene, he waved the machete from his car's window, then later crashed into an officer's vehicle, causing a brief pursuit, reported by Police1.
After stopping near Figueroa and 12th streets, Singh reportedly charged the officers with the machete. The officers involved, identified as Michael Orozco and Nestor Espinoza Bojorquez, fired their guns, striking Singh who was later declared dead at the hospital. The 2-foot-long machete was recovered and is currently listed as evidence. During the incident, there were no reported injuries besides the suspect's.
The incident has raised questions about the appropriate use of force, and the Los Angeles Police Department has released the bodycam footage to provide transparency around the events leading up to the shooting. Both ABC7 and Police1 confirm, the ongoing investigation into the shooting is expected to address the officers' response to the threat as well as Singh's actions leading up the fatal encounter.
