Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Local civil rights leaders are calling for a full independent investigation into the death of a Black man who was shot to death in Northridge New Year’s Eve by an off-duty federal immigration agent.
Los Angeles police are investigating the shooting death of a man identified by Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope as Keith Porter Jr. Porter was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent after Porter apparently fired shots in the air in celebration of the new year. Porter was pronounced dead at the scene.
The unidentified ICE agent called the LAPD after the shooting.
Ali said he believes Porter “was unjustly shot and killed by an overzealous off-duty ICE agent.”
“In a public statement, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Porter Jr. was an ‘active shooter,’” Ali said. “That claim is false and misleading.”
Ali cited witnesses who said Porter was firing a rifle into the air to celebrate the new year, an illegal tradition in the Los Angeles area, and not targeting any individual.
“Multiple eyewitnesses are prepared to testify to these facts,” he said. “Despite this, Homeland Security has used the ‘active shooter’ narrative to justify the killing.”
Ali called for a full, independent investigation by the California Attorney General as well as the immediate release of all body-camera footage, ballistic evidence and witness statements.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, demanded that President Trump condemn the unwarranted slaying of Porter.
“The slaying of Keith Porter was a prime example of unwarranted use of deadly force,” Hutchinson said in a statement posted on his website. “Porter was celebrating as thousands others did with fireworks and arms on New Year’s Eve. “He posed no threat in his celebration to any civilians.
“There were no reports of him … as an active shooter. Yet Homeland Security rushed to judgment exonerating the officer of any wrongdoing,” Hutchinson added. “Trump praises Homeland Security continually for its action. He has an equal duty and obligation to condemn the agency when it oversteps its bounds. The Porter slaying is certainly a deadly and outrageous example of that.”
Officers responded at 11:37 p.m. Dec. 31 to reports of a man firing shots in the air at an apartment complex in the 17701 block of Roscoe Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The ICE officer responded to the shooting and exchanged gunfire with the shooter, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“An off-duty ICE Officer bravely responded to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex. In order to protect his life and that of others, he was forced to defensively use his weapon and exchanged gunfire with the shooter,” the statement said. “Fortunately, our brave officer was not injured while protecting his community.”
“It was like a lot of shots. It was more than 10 shots, it was a lot of shots and we got scared, but I thought it was something like fireworks,” an apartment resident told Fox11.
The off-duty officer called the LAPD immediately to report the shooting, according to the Department of Homeland Security.statement. The LAPD is investigating the shooting, but did not identify the victim or provide further details.
