FBI TO PROBE POLICE KILLING OF 13-YEAR-OLD.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation Wednesday into the controversial police shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown, while the Los Angeles Police Department tried to calm community outrage by releasing preliminary details of how a joyriding incident turned deadly.

``The FBI has now joined the investigation and will be looking into this from the U.S. Attorney's Office perspective, related to potential civil- rights violations - similar to the (federal investigation of the) Stanley Miller incident,'' LAPD Chief William Bratton said at a press conference.

Bratton said that, before the Police Commission meeting Tuesday, he plans to outline a new policy that would prohibit officers from shooting into moving vehicles with some exceptions. Such a policy has been under consideration for a year.

``We already have one of the tightest policies in the country. We are going to tighten the policy a little more, put additional language in to assist our officers in making decisions at the conclusion of these pursuits,'' said Bratton, adding that he is also redefining the amount of force officers will be allowed to use.

The fatal shooting at the end of a police pursuit Sunday has ignited outrage among African-American community leaders, who have said Officer Steve Garcia, a nine-year veteran of the LAPD, was too quick to fire 10 shots into the stolen Toyota Camry. Bratton said Garcia and another officer involved in the incident have been assigned to desk duty during the investigation into the shooting.

During a press conference, Bratton and Deputy Chief Michael Berkow revealed details of the early stages of their investigation, saying they wanted to dispel any rumors that might be circulating in the community.

Brown, an African-American, was driving the stolen Toyota early Sunday morning when an officer, believing he was a drunk driver, attempted to pull him over at 3:49 a.m., Berkow said.

A police pursuit ensued, and Brown, driving at an estimated 40 to 50 mph, crashed the car into a curb at Western Avenue and 83rd Street after it skidded more than 100 feet, Berkow said.

Berkow said a 14-year-old boy in the passenger seat jumped out of the car and ran. He was arrested at the scene and booked on suspicion of auto theft.

Meanwhile, Berkow said evidence gathered at the scene shows that Brown backed the Camry up 21 feet, then backed up an additional 18 feet and then drove forward nine feet. During his maneuvering, both the Camry and the police car were damaged on the side, Berkow said.

At some point, Garcia got out of his car and fired 10 times into Brown's vehicle, killing the boy. Officers have said they believed they were pursuing a drunk driver and did not know the driver was 13.

Neither Bratton nor Berkow offered any justification at the press conference for why Garcia fired into the car.

Despite the release of the details, community pressure continued to build.

``No more excuses, no more time frames,'' South Los Angeles resident Irese Carpenter told reporters. ``This thing has got to stop.''

Outrage over Brown's shooting spilled over into a Police Commission meeting Tuesday, when dozens of activists questioned whether the shooting was justified and demanded immediate action against the officers involved.

Some people said they are losing faith in a criminal justice system that refused to bring charges against the LAPD officer who struck African- American car-theft suspect Miller 11 times with a flashlight in June. The District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the officers in the Miller case.

Initially, Bratton had said that developing a new pursuit policy would take up to 45 days, but decided Wednesday to have the policy ready by the end of the week for submission to the commission before its next meeting.

City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD officer, said everyone in the community must work to prevent these types of shootings.

``Let's stop the gang-banging, let's stop the innocent people getting killed,'' Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine said. ``Let's stop 13-year-olds stealing cars and fleeing from the police. Let's take responsibility for our youth. Let's take responsibility for the community and let's bring back a sense of order so we don't have these types of tragedies.''

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com