NO CHARGES IN COP SHOOTING OF TOT DEAD DAD TO BLAME FOR GUNFIRE, D.A. SAYS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Eleven Los Angeles police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 19-month-old girl in a South Los Angeles hostage standoff with her father will not face criminal charges but still could be disciplined, officials said Tuesday.

District Attorney Steve Cooley said his office will not file criminal charges because the death of Suzie Pena was the result of actions by her father, Jose Pena, in an hours-long standoff and gunfight with officers in July 2005.

But the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled Tuesday that two officers involved in the early stages of the shootout violated the department's use-of-force policy.

The panel spent nearly nine hours behind closed doors reviewing the actions of SWAT officers and supervisors involved in the standoff.

The commission did not release the names of the two officers found to have violated the LAPD's use-of-force policy.

Police Chief William Bratton has said he believes it will be difficult to recommend any disciplinary action against individual officers because it could not be determined which officers fired the shots that actually killed Pena and the tot.

In an emotional appeal to the commission before its decision, members of the Pena family said they were seeking some form of discipline. With tears streaming, the dead tot's mother, Lorena Lopez, declared, ``I want justice.''

Lopez's daughter Ilside DePaz, who had been held hostage by her stepfather, Pena, earlier in the day, said more should have been done to protect her little half-sister, Suzie. ``To me, the life of an innocent child was taken and, to me, those who were involved and caused her death should be disciplined,'' DePaz said. ``We've been waiting for a very long time.''

The commission reviewed an internal Los Angeles Police Department report on all aspects of the shooting, from the initial 911 calls to how officers responded.

In a separate 10-page report, the district attorney said direct confrontations began after DePaz called 911 twice within 15 minutes, saying she was being threatened by Pena while she was at Raul's Car Lot.

The report says that when officers arrived and interviewed DePaz, Pena emerged from his office, holding Suzie. The report says he appeared upset that police were there, refused to open a gate and dared officers to shoot him.

Police said they repeatedly asked Pena to give them the child or let them enter the lot, but he returned to his office. Police requested backup. Moments later, Pena emerged again, cradling Suzie in his right arm and firing a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at officers.

Officers fired back as they crouched behind their cars, and Pena kept shooting as he returned to his office. Several officers from Southeast, Southwest, Metropolitan, 77th Street, Newton Division and South Bureau arrived to help.

Meanwhile, a group tried to pull DePaz to safety, and police and Pena continued to exchange gunfire. Officials said police pulled other workers to safety, and efforts to talk Pena out of the office were unsuccessful.

The district attorney's report says Pena told one officer, ``I'm going to hell. Me and the baby will go to hell before I ever leave this baby with my wife.''

At 6:20 p.m., Pena walked out of his office and again refused orders to put the girl down, according to the district attorney's report that says Pena was seen reaching for his gun when officers shot him. SWAT team members rushed the office, there was more gunfire, and a flashbang grenade was set off.

Pena was seen slumped behind a desk with Suzie in his lap. As officers picked her up, they learned she had been shot and killed, according to the report.

Autopsies found evidence of cocaine and methamphetamines in Pena. Medical examiners also found the presence of cocaine in Suzie's blood.

City News Service contributed to this report.

[e-mail]

[phone]