[RodneyFarva]

Los Angeles, California — On March 16, 2021 around 12:15 p.m., LAPD Southwest Patrol Division officers responded to a radio call of an "Assault with a Deadly Weapon" in the 1000 block of West 21st Street. The officers learned that the suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Jorge Cerda, was armed, believed to be under the influence of narcotics, and had discharged a weapon. After the suspect barricaded himself inside a home, officers from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) were summoned to the scene to assist. The SWAT personnel established containment, cleared surrounding residents from the area, and initiated their efforts to establish communication with the suspect. After the Crisis Negotiation Team declared an impasse, gas was deployed into the home. As this occurred, the suspect fired, striking SWAT officer, Rodney Williams twice. The suspect then exited the residence armed with a shotgun resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting. Cerda was struck by gunfire. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded and determined Cerda had died at the scene. Officer Williams struck by gunfire was transported to a local hospital where he is listed in stable condition. He suffered a shot to the face and a round to the chest which was stopped by his vest. A shotgun and pistol were recovered at scene and booked as evidence. No other officers or bystanders were injured during this incident.

 

[RodneyFarva]

it was later determined the suspect had died of asphyxiation under the weight of Ofc. R. Williams GIANT BALLS! and not gunfire as originality thought.

Fuck that guy.

 

[Hush]

LACopper and I were just discussing this! Great shooting, and balls of steel for sure!

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[Glock48]

I'm no tacti-cool SWAT guy but my common sense tells me you shouldn't return to the spot you were standing when you got shot by a threat you couldn't spot.

Ofc William's is lucky he gets to spend Easter with his family.

Great work by his partner being able to literally single handedly buddy drag him to safety.

 

[RodneyFarva]

I'm no tacti-cool SWAT guy but my common sense tells me you shouldn't return to the spot you were standing when you got shot by a threat you couldn't spot.

Its a good point.

 

[Hush]

LAPD Swat is pretty much the best of the best so it's hard to critique, but yeah.... Second story guy filled him in nicely though to make up for it.

 

[RodneyFarva]

Second story guy filled him in nicely though to make up for it.

I think that would be classified as "making it rain"

 

[LA Copper]

The reason Rodney didn't move from that spot is because they couldn't just give up a location when they had a suspect with two guns moving through that residential area. (Even though the initial responding officers did the best they could to evacuate residents, that didn't mean everyone actually left.) If they moved from that spot, it would've given the suspect a potential avenue of escape into the neighborhood rather than being contained in the small area he was in.

Agreed about the great work by his partner dragging Rodney out of the line of fire. Rodney weighs about 195 pounds, plus the 50 extra pounds of equipment. Not to mention the partner officer did his best to keep his own rifle's muzzle down range in case the suspect chased after them.

 

[USAF286]

The reason Rodney didn't move from that spot is because they couldn't just give up a location when they had a suspect with two guns moving through that residential area. (Even though the initial responding officers did the best they could to evacuate residents, that didn't mean everyone actually left.) If they moved from that spot, it would've given the suspect a potential avenue of escape into the neighborhood rather than being contained in the small area he was in.

Agreed about the great work by his partner dragging Rodney out of the line of fire. Rodney weighs about 195 pounds, plus the 50 extra pounds of equipment. Not to mention the partner officer did his best to keep his own rifle's muzzle down range in case the suspect chased after them.

Based on the tight residential quarters LA SWAT are dealing with here and I assume frequently, is it very common for them to go into residential homes nearby that provide a good tactical advantage? I’m just curious as to the public’s feedback to having use their homes like that and if there’s a lot of pushback.


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[LA Copper]

In cases such as the one in this incident, these homes are all going to be evacuated due to the deadly threat of the suspect. Of course we can't force people to leave but I'd say it works about 95% of the time because they don't want to get killed. Because it happens fairly frequently out here, the residents know it's a real thing, not just something they see on TV.

I don't think it's very often but I'll ask tomorrow how often they go into people's homes to use them during the incident. Most every SWAT related incident I've been a part of, they've remained on the outside in some fashion, however, they are deployed well over 100 times a year so there's probably some incidents where they do that. I'll find out and get back to you USAF.

 

[Quo Vadis]

The reason Rodney didn't move from that spot is because they couldn't just give up a location when they had a suspect with two guns moving through that residential area. If they moved from that spot, it would've given the suspect a potential avenue of escape into the neighborhood rather than being contained in the small area he was in.

But the officers did end up moving and giving up that location, after Rodney was shot.

He got hit the first time, flinched away from the corner, then returned to it and exposed himself again to what he knew was accurate fire.

Was there a position of cover, perhaps further back, which would have allowed similar benefits from a perimeter standpoint with lower risk of getting shot by the suspect? Maybe not. But after taking accurate fire, exposing yourself in the same spot just gives more power to the suspect, who can then keep hitting you until you’re out of the fight.

My point is, what good is a tight perimeter if it exposes you to so much risk that the suspect can easily shoot you? That also damages the integrity of the perimeter.

Edit: Of course, I wasn’t there, and I don’t know all the relevant details. I recognize that sometimes situations don’t present any good options.

 

[USAF286]

Rodney expected to make a full recovery? It’s hard to see with the angle and his mask/helmet set up but it looked like it was bleeding a lot in the neck area.


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[LA Copper]

Quo, your last line says it all; we weren't there and don't have all the facts the officers had at that time. I'm not a SWAT guy but one of my partners was LAPD SWAT for many years. I asked him what he thought about it and he said the same thing you said in your last line as well. We weren't there and don't know what info they had and what their role was.

That being said, let's not forget, this is what SWAT guys do. They take positions from patrol officers in situations like this because they have better training, better weapons, better equipment, better body armor, and generally better discipline. Sometimes bad things happen. In this case, Rodney exposed himself the second time to provide cover to the officer firing the tear gas gun.

They only gave up that spot because they had no choice once Rodney was shot the second time, not to mention it was a natural reaction to pull your friend and teammate out of the line of fire at a time like that. They didn't move after the first round (although they could have of course) because they didn't have to. It was a choice they made because that's what they're trained to do, make choices under fire during critical incidents. Thankfully this choice didn't cost him the ultimate.

Rodney is out of the hospital and is recovering. I'm told he is having problems with his hearing but he's trying to get back to work as soon as he can. Now that's the attitude to have!