SIS SHOOTINGS PROPER, L.A. PANEL RULES; U.S. PROBE CONTINUES IN FATAL NORTHRIDGE INCIDENT.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Detectives from the LAPD's Special Investigation Section acted properly when they fatally shot three robbery suspects last year in Northridge and injured a bystander, police commissioners decided Tuesday.

In a report approved by the commission, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks concluded that on the same day of the shootout, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to file robbery charges against one of the suspects despite positive identification from a witness.

The Police Commission voted to approve the report by Parks, who determined that four SIS detectives acted ``in policy'' in the Feb. 25 incident.

``We reached the conclusion, based on the circumstances of the situation, that the department used reasonable and appropriate force,'' said commission President Edith Perez.

Following the shootout, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office launched a civil-rights probe of the SIS to determine whether the detectives violated the civil rights of those killed and injured in the incident. That probe is not complete.

Also, the LAPD and city were sued in federal court by attorney Steve Yagman on behalf of injured bystander Grover Smith and families of the slain suspects. He called the SIS a ``death squad.''

Yagman denounced the commission's determination, saying the panel is ``a big rubber stamp for whatever the LAPD does.''

``That is the reason that the LAPD has the brutal thugs that inhabit it,'' Yagman said.

In the Northridge case, SIS detectives were tailing several people they suspected in a string of robberies. They followed them Feb. 25, 1997, to the Classroom Bar on Roscoe Avenue, where police say the suspects committed a robbery, the report says.

Detectives followed the suspects until their vehicle turned into a cul-de-sac off Schoenborn Street, where they say one of the suspects leaned out of the car window and pointed a gun at them. During the incident, four detectives opened fire with shotguns, firing 13 shots altogether.

Parks' report does not say whether any of the suspects returned fire. Killed were robbery suspects Eric Fields, 25, Kim L. Benton, 26, and Kirk Deffenbaugh, 22, who lived in the Van Nuys area.

``Although department policy generally prohibits shooting from or at a moving vehicle, I find this instance an exception,'' Parks wrote in a 16-page report. ``I have determined that the detectives acted appropriately in defense of life.''

Parks also concluded that a detective acted ``in policy'' in shooting Smith, who the detective mistakenly believed to be one of the robbery suspects and who he believed was reaching for a gun in his waistband.

``G. Smith failed to comply with the detectives' commands,'' Parks wrote, adding that ``based on his suspicious actions and physical appearance,'' the detectives ``reasonably believed G. Smith presented an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death.''

During the incident, officers a block away spotted a man, later identified as Grover Smith, appearing to hide in some bushes.

When police identified themselves and ordered Smith to stop, he ran away and toward other officers, Parks said.

Two detectives saw Smith put his hand in his waistband and, believing Smith was reaching for a gun, fired their shotguns, hitting Smith once in the leg. He was later found to be an unarmed bystander.