L.A. County deputies who shot and killed Dijon Kizzee will not be charged as the case will be turned over to the district attorney.
Kizzee, 24, an African-American, was shot eight times by deputies who were responding to a 911 call about a man in a white pickup truck who had been driving erratically in the area.
The investigation into Kizzee’s death was turned over to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office after a district attorney’s probe found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
The decision by Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey to hand the case to District Attorney Steve Cooley will be made public in January, said Assistant Chief Deputy DA Robert Garcia on Thursday.
Kizzee, who was shot after he allegedly drove into a crowd outside a birthday party at an apartment complex where he had earlier been questioned about a burglary, had been a suspect in several burglaries.
The investigation into Kizzee’s murder was a joint investigation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. City Department of Public Works, along with the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Last August, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials filed a complaint citing excessive force and excessive use of force on the part of Sheriff Lee Baca’s deputies, who shot Kizzee as he drove away from his apartment complex after a traffic stop for a speeding violation.
At the time, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it could not confirm or deny any investigation involving its office.
“(District Attorney’s Office representatives) were not here for the entire time period,” Garcia said of the investigation that began in April.
The sheriff’s department investigation found that deputies had used the Taser on Kizzee for nearly four minutes after he drove into the crowd. Kizzee had been involved in several previous fights, and was considered a suspect in several burglaries, authorities said.
After a weeklong investigation, authorities said there were no new developments indicating there would be an arrest in relation to the investigation.
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