WHITTIER - A 25-year veteran police officer was killed, and another officer and a gunman were wounded, in a shootout Monday, officials said.

"Officers respond to a call, and it seems like a simple traffic accident, and the next thing they know they’re in a gunfight," said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The officer was identified as Keith Boyer, a 25-year veteran officer, Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri confirmed.

His daughter-in-law described him on Facebook as a hero who just wanted to make the world a better, safer place.

"I didn't think I had any tears left," said Whitter Police Chief Jeff A. Piper as he broke down weeping for his personal friend, Boyer.

About 8 a.m., Boyer and another male officer, later identified as Patrick Hazel, responded to a crash in the area of Colima Road and Mar Vista in Whittier where allegedly a driver of a stolen car had struck two other cars at a stop light, Corina said. When the officers arrived, they were told by the victims that the driver who had struck them was around the corner. The officers approached the suspected gunman's car completely unaware that it was stolen. "When they get him out of the car, they go to pat him down for weapons, they can see he’s got tattoos all over his face and all over his neck," Corina said at a news conference. In the midst of a pat down, Corina said the man pulled out a gun and started shooting. The officers returned fire and wounded him.

Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests, Corina said. Aerial images showed the shattered driver side window of a Whittier police vehicle and a rifle on the trunk of another car.

All three were rushed to the hospital, where Boyer was pronounced dead. Officer Hazel was in stable condition.
The identity of the shooter had not been released, but deputies said he was a known gang member. He was described by Corina only as a 26-year-old man who had been paroled approximately 10 days before the shootout. He was in the intensive care unit of the hospital, Corina said. (Source: KNBC)

Story Date: February 23, 2017