Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Six days after a police shooting left a young man dead, Covina Police department release details of what led up to the deadly encounter.

Officers responded to country liquor, 124 E. Arrow Hwy., April 9 at 10:10 p.m. to several 9-1-1 calls reporting a man with a gun. The suspect, who the callers described, was drinking a beer outside of the liquor store and was allegedly arguing with customers, according to the Covina Police Department.

After locating three a man outside of the liquor store, Police noticed one man who fit the description of the suspect.

“The officers identified a man who fit the description of the call and gave lawful commands not to reach for anything [“Don’t reach for anything.”] The individual did not comply with these commands and begin to remove what officers reasonably believed to be a gun from his waistband,” according to the Covina Police Department in a written statement.

Officers then shot 25-year-old Daniel Valdivia, a Covina resident. He was given medical aid and transported to a hospital where he died.

Recovered was a BB gun which resembles a Glock handgun, the Covina Police Department said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives were initially called to investigate. The investigation has since been handed over to the California Department of Justice.

OAKLAND – The California Department of Justice announced Monday that it is investigating the Covina Police shooting that killed a man April 9.

The shooting took place in the 100 block of East Arrow Highway around 10:10 p.m. Covina officers were reportedly responding to a call for assistance, according to Office of the Attorney General.

The man killed was identified by the county coroner as 24-year-old Daniel Valdivia, a Covina resident.

No other details are available.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau initially responded and began investigating.

The California Department of Justice’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team for Southern California responded to the scene to investigate after being notified by local authorities.

The state-level investigation is being conducted pursuant to AB 1506 and requires a state prosecutor from the attorney general’s office to investigate police shootings involving a questionable use of force, or a shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian.

AB 1506, which was signed into law September 30, 2020, went into effect July 1, 2021.

For more information, visit the Office of the Attorney General website.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A man was hospitalized and later died from wounds suffered in a police shooting, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The police shooting occurred around 10:10 p.m. in the 100 block of East Arrow Highway. No officers were injured during the shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

It is not yet publicly clear what led to the police shooting.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Police arrived en mas Thursday night to a neighborhood to quell a group of protestors who reportedly found the home of the deputy who fatally shot an 18-year-old man in Gardena.

The deputy reportedly lives in the area of Hollenbeck Avenue and San Bernardino Road. Protesters stood in the street, on the sidewalk and walked all over the front yard of a home believed to belong to Miguel Vega July 30.

Police from Covina, Glendora, Azusa and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrived to push back protestors who left behind signs at the home. Most, if not all, of the signs were removed by police.

In a video posted to social media, law enforcement could be seen going in and out of the home, talking to whoever was inside.

Deputies descended on Andres Guardado, who was employed as a security guard, at a Gardena business June 18.

Deputies claim they saw a gun on Guadardo’s person. Guardado ran from deputies a brief distance into an alley. He was shot and killed by deputy gunfire.

A gun was reportedly found in Guardado’s possession. Deputies allege he reached for his weapon during the foot pursuit.

Guardado’s death has strained the somewhat current tenuous relationship between law enforcement and the public, amidst calls for defunding law enforcement and amidst destructive protests and rioting.

Compounding the investigation is the allegations that shortly after shooting Guardado, deputies ripped surveillance cameras from a nearby business without a search warrant.

A security hold was placed on the autopsy report for Guardado — a standard procedure in police shooting investigations, but the very public family squabble between embattled Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and County authorities took an unexpected turn.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner defied the Sheriff’s security request and made public the preliminary results. Guardado was shot five times in the back, according to the coroner report.

An independent autopsy confirmed the county coroner’s findings.

COVINA - Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances that led to  police opening fire on an armed, barricaded suspect Thursday night.

Authorities opened fire on the suspect around 12:43 a.m. and the suspect went down with undisclosed injuries. It was roughly 10 minutes before police approached him since they believed he still held a shotgun, according to Sheriff’s radio traffic.

Los Angeles County firefighters arrived to the 300 block of Vincent Avenue regarding a grass fire call in a field around 9:21 p.m. and encountered a suspect armed with a shotgun. Law enforcement was called and firefighters retreated.