deputy involved shooting

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Provides Update on the Dijon Kizzee Investigation

Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference today, Thursday, September 17, 2020, to announce the latest developments surrounding the death of Dijon Kizzee.

Sheriff Villanueva gave a perspective of the community of where the shooting occurred and showed a series of PowerPoint slides depicting a one-mile radius where Suspect Dijon Kizzee was shot. A total of 12 homicides, 163 aggravated assaults, and 115 offenses with weapons have occurred since January of 2020. Sheriff Villanueva added that although it appears to be a high crime area, most of the residents are law-abiding citizens. The Sheriff’s Department is trying to protect the community. The Sheriff further stated most youth programs in the community had been eliminated due to budget cuts, and that has an impact when it comes to crime.  

The Captain of Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, Kent Wegener, gave a detailed briefing of the shooting. On August 31, 2020, at 3:14 p.m., deputies attempted to detain Suspect Kizzee for a traffic violation, but he refused to stop and fled on his bicycle. He fell off the bicycle, abandoned it, and ran from deputies on Budlong Avenue. Deputies returned to their patrol and began checking the area for Kizzee.

When the deputies located Suspect Kizzee on 109th Place, west of Budlong Ave., the passenger deputy exited the patrol vehicle and attempted to detain him. Suspect Kizzee briefly raised his hands; he had a green towel in one hand and a black and red jacket in the other hand, as the deputy approached him. Suspect Kizzee lowered his hands, then struggled with the deputy before punching the deputy in the face. During the struggle, the handgun Suspect Kizzee was carrying fell to the ground. Seeing the handgun fall, Deputies drew their pistols as Suspect Kizzee stopped, bent over, reached back, and picked up the pistol. Deputies fired and struck him several times, causing the gun to fall again. Paramedics responded, and Suspect Kizzee was pronounced dead at the scene.                    

At the time the deputy-involved shooting occurred, Suspect Kizzee was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his status as a convicted felon. The handgun he had was a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol. 

Protocols were followed, and the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau responded to the scene. Representatives from the Internal Affairs Bureau, the Inspector General’s Office, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Justice System Integrity Division, also responded. Witnesses were interviewed, and their testimony was recorded. Several videos were obtained, and some of those videos were shared by users on social media. An autopsy was performed on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, and the report has not yet been completed.

During the investigation, it was discovered the pistol in Suspect Kizzee’s possession at the time of the shooting was reported stolen during a residential burglary in Las Vegas, Nevada, back in February of 2017. When it was recovered at the scene, it had 15 live rounds.

 The cellular phone of Suspect Kizzee was forensically reviewed, and videos were discovered, which show him in possession of the same handgun.

During the news conference, several videos of the shooting incident were shown.

From the beginning of the investigation, Sheriff Villanueva assured a thorough, transparent, and objective investigation, no matter how long it would take. Once the investigation is complete, it will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office to determine if the force used by the deputies violated any criminal laws.