Family of 35-year-old man fatally shot by LAPD officers demands answers, prosecution

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The family of a 35-year-old man who was killed by police officers in South Los Angeles is demanding answers and accountability.

Relatives of Oscar Leon gathered for his funeral on Saturday.

LAPD officers shot Leon on Jan. 3 after they say he approached them with a sharp metal pole with a spike.

His family says he was having a mental health episode and needed help.

“It was overkill what happened to him. The multiple shots and then the arresting and the violence and the abandonment of not rendering aid immediately ,” said family friend Alejandro Villapando during a press conference. “He doesn’t want the officer to pay with his life. That would never return his brother’s life to him, but the demand is constant by all these families.

A lawsuit is expected to be filed against the city of L.A., the police department and officers involved in the deadly shooting.