By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Nearly two weeks after 43-year-old Keith Porter, a father of two, was fatally shot by an off-duty federal immigration agent, his family and community advocates took their demands directly to the Los Angeles Police Commission, pressing for transparency, accountability and the public identification of the agent who fired the fatal shots.
Holding a photograph of her cousin, Jsané Tyler stood alone before the commission during public comment Jan. 13, urging commissioners to use the authority of their positions to push for answers in a case that has left Porter’s family grieving and frustrated.
“The only mistake my cousin made was believing he had the right to celebrate the way many Americans have for generations,” Tyler said, fighting back tears. She rejected official descriptions of Porter as a threat and said her cousin had been waiting for his girlfriend to return with food so they could celebrate the new year together.
Porter was shot and killed on New Year’s Eve in the 17700 block of Roscoe Boulevard in Northridge. In a statement released after the shooting, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent “bravely responded to an active shooter situation” after hearing gunfire outside his apartment. According to DHS, the agent went outside, encountered Porter holding what appeared to be a rifle, identified himself as law enforcement, and fired after Porter allegedly refused commands and pointed the weapon at him.
Porter’s family and advocates sharply dispute that account. They say Porter was firing celebratory gunshots into the air and posed no imminent threat. They argue that the agent’s decision to leave his apartment armed — rather than call local police — set in motion a fatal encounter that should never have occurred.
Tyler told commissioners that basic procedures were not followed after the shooting. She said the agent was never ordered to surrender his weapon, tested for drugs or alcohol, or formally interrogated — failures she described as systemic rather than incidental.
She also challenged the way law enforcement initially framed the incident, saying Porter was treated as both a suspect and a victim.
“You allowed LAPD to treat Keith Porter as a suspect,” she said. “He was not a suspect. He was a victim.”
LAPD officers responded to the scene around 10:30 p.m. and found Porter suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Federal authorities have not publicly identified the ICE agent involved, and no criminal charges have been filed. LAPD has said it is investigating the shooting, while ICE is conducting a parallel internal review.
The lack of public information — particularly the agent’s identity — has become a central flashpoint for the family and community advocates.
During the meeting, attendees held photographs of Porter and Renée Nicole Good, a Minneapolis mother of three who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in a separate confrontation that drew national attention. Several speakers accused city officials and the Police Commission of failing to exercise meaningful oversight when federal agents are involved.
Melina Abdullah, co-founder and director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, criticized the language used by authorities to describe the shooting, arguing that calling Porter an “active shooter” amounted to a character assassination.
“Keith Porter was not a suspect,” Abdullah said. “He was the victim.”
Michael Williams, also with BLM Grassroots, argued that Porter’s killing would have been handled differently had the shooter not been law enforcement. Addressing commissioners, Williams said there would be no plausible self-defense claim if a civilian or private security guard had left their home armed and shot someone.
“If this had been anyone else — a civilian or a security guard — they would already be in handcuffs,” Williams said.
Williams said he did not come to the commission expecting it to act, but to publicly challenge what he described as a pattern of inaction. If the commission believed that assessment was unfair, he said, it had an opportunity to prove him wrong by holding the ICE agent accountable.
Baba Akili, a longtime activist and national field coordinator for BLM Grassroots, urged commissioners to set a firm timeline for the investigation and formally recommend prosecution to the district attorney. Akili called for the agent’s identity to be released immediately and for the case to be reviewed within 30 days.
“If the situation had been reversed,” Akili said, “my name would already be plastered across the newspapers.”
Several speakers used heated language during public comment, directing sharp criticism at the Police Commission. Police Chief Jim McDonnell sat stoically through much of the testimony, at times looking straight ahead as speakers addressed him directly, while other commissioners leaned forward, glanced at one another, or took notes. The public comment period was cut short before all who had signed up were able to speak, prompting audible frustration from attendees in the chamber.
Outside the meeting, advocates reiterated their demands and said they would continue pressing city leaders until the agent is identified and the case moves forward. A candlelight vigil held over the weekend in Carson, where Porter was raised, drew dozens of mourners and renewed calls for a timely investigation.
For now, the ICE agent remains unnamed, no charges have been filed, and the investigation continues — an outcome Porter’s family says underscores why they brought their demands directly to the city’s civilian oversight body.
CAPTION
Franceola Armstrong, the mother of Keith Porter, who was killed New Year’s Eve by an off-duty federal immigration agent, is consoled at a candlelight vigil ion Carson Park Jan. 10. Activists are calling for the arrest and prosecution of the agent.
Photo by Viola Gray
JUMPHEAD
Supporters of man killed by ICE agent seek answers from panel
JUMP CAPTION
Jsané Tyler, cousin of Keith Porter, addresses the Los Angeles Police Commission Jan. 13 as others at the meeting hold photographs of Porter and Renée Nicole Good. Porter’s family members want to know the name of the federal agent who shot Porter and want the New Year’s Eve shooting investigated fully.
Photo by Stephen Oduntan
