An officer-involved shooting in the Harbor Division is currently under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Force Investigation Division and the California Department of Justice (DOJ), as stated in a report released earlier this month. On the night of December 31, 2025, two LAPD officers from the Harbor Patrol Division responded to a call regarding what was believed to be a restraining order violation at an apartment located on the 500 block of West 37th Street.
The incident escalated when Lawrence Gonzales, a 39-year-old man, resisted arrest inside the apartment. He reportedly refused to comply with officers' commands and then physically resisted when officers attempted to detain him. During the altercation, Gonzales tried to disarm one of the officers, leading to the officer-involved shooting. This information comes directly from a statement released by the LAPD on their official website.
Both officers involved in the shooting suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including bruises, cuts, and scrapes, and were subsequently transported to a local hospital for treatment by Los Angeles Fire Department personnel. Gonzales was also transported by the Los Angeles Fire Department to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries. The report confirmed that no other community members were harmed during the confrontation.
LAPD's Family Liaison Section representatives have since made the official notifications to Gonzales' next of kin. The Force Investigation Division and representatives from California’s DOJ went to the scene and took over the investigative duties for this incident, as per the LAPD's online newsroom statement. The ongoing investigation is expected to address several key aspects, including witness interviews, physical and electronic evidence review, and forensic analysis – with the current understanding that facts and circumstances might evolve as new evidence comes to light.
