The Los Angeles Police Department has released body-worn camera footage that shows a man sprinting out of a Hollywood apartment and charging at officers with a large kitchen knife, a confrontation that ended when officers opened fire, and the man later died at a hospital. The tightly edited video shows an officer firing a handgun and another officer discharging a 40-mm less-lethal round almost at the same moment as the man advances, offering the first public look at a mid-December encounter that local outlets initially reported at the time.
What LAPD says about the encounter
According to the department, uniformed Hollywood Division officers responded around 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 18 to reports of a man in crisis at an apartment building in the 1400 block of North Bronson Avenue near Sunset Boulevard, and the Force Investigation Division is handling the review. In its initial statement, LAPD says officers announced themselves before the man opened his door, then “suddenly exited the apartment and ran towards the officers armed with a large kitchen knife,” which they say prompted an officer-involved shooting as well as the firing of a 40-mm less-lethal round. No officers or bystanders were reported injured in the department’s account, and a kitchen knife was recovered and booked into evidence, according to LAPD Newsroom.
911 call and the events on video
The released footage includes audio from the 911 call, where the man tells dispatchers that he is armed, says he is “speaking to ghosts,” and warns that he will kill anyone who approaches his door. On the video, he bursts from his unit and moves toward the officers while holding what appears to be a large kitchen knife. The clip shows the almost simultaneous use of lethal and less-lethal force, followed by paramedics taking the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.
Who was involved
The Los Angeles County Office of the Medical Examiner identified the man as 38-year-old Juan Guerrero Rojo, per reporting by NBC Los Angeles. On Dec. 22, the LAPD released the name of the officer who fired, identifying Police Officer II Antonio Gomez (Serial No. 43452) as the involved officer, a detail included in the department’s news release.
Investigation and policy context
The Force Investigation Division is continuing to gather evidence and analyze the video. LAPD’s critical-incident video policy calls for releasing footage in the public interest within specific timeframes, although activists and attorneys have long criticized how such videos are edited or delayed, a tension that frequently resurfaces when new clips drop. For background on those rules and the long-running fight over access to body-camera footage, see reporting by The Guardian.
Why the new video matters
Hoodline first covered the December shooting in its December shooting coverage, and the newly released video adds direct visual context to that earlier reporting. As the investigation continues, the footage is likely to influence community reaction and any administrative or legal scrutiny of the officers’ split-second decisions.
Investigators are asking anyone who saw the incident or has information to contact authorities, according to NBC Los Angeles, and the department has noted that no officers or bystanders were injured during the confrontation. The Force Investigation Division will keep working the case, with the newly posted bodycam footage now part of the official record.
