A knife-wielding man and his female hostage have been shot dead by police during a stand-off outside a church.
Footage from two Los Angeles officers' body-worn cameras showed the suspect, Guillermo Perez, 32, holding a knife and being told to put down the weapon before taking hold of the bystander, Elizabeth Tollison, and putting a blade to her throat.
The officers were heard shouting "drop the knife" several times to no avail outside what is a church that helps homeless people.
Several rounds were then fired from one of the officers' bean bag shotguns – which fire a small number of pellets – as Perez used a chair to try and deflect the rounds.
But he soon grabbed Ms Tollison and dropped the chair before they were both repeatedly shot at and killed by the three officers.
Police said they opened fire, nearly 20 times, after the man began cutting the hostage during the stand-off on 16 June.
Officers said a witness told them they saw Perez move the knife in a "sawing motion against her throat and cut her throat" after they were called to reports of a man stabbing his ex-girlfriend.
The apparent ex-girlfriend's injuries were not life-threatening.
It is the first time Los Angeles police have killed someone considered an "innocent bystander or hostage" in 13 years.
Police chief Michel Moore said: "This is another case where officers were forced to make split-second decisions based on the actions of a violent individual."
Another fatal police shooting followed just weeks later when officers attempted to stop an armed man from entering a Trader Joe's supermarket and shot the outlet's assistant manager Melyda Corado.
Police said the worker was killed before the man took hostages inside the shop on 21 July, with the police chief defending the use of deadly force as officers tried to stop what they feared could become a mass shooting.
However, Mr Moore said he was concerned about the average number of rounds being used by officers in shootings, which increased last year – as well as the increasing average number of officers involved in those shootings.
More from Los Angeles
He said new training would be given to officers with his police department looking into non-lethal weapons to equip officers with.
The police chief also said an investigation would look into whether officers adhered to hostage training.
A knife-wielding man and his female hostage have been shot dead by police during a stand-off outside a church.
Footage from two Los Angeles officers' body-worn cameras showed the suspect, Guillermo Perez, 32, holding a knife and being told to put down the weapon before taking hold of the bystander, Elizabeth Tollison, and putting a blade to her throat.
The officers were heard shouting "drop the knife" several times to no avail outside what is a church that helps homeless people.
Several rounds were then fired from one of the officers' bean bag shotguns – which fire a small number of pellets – as Perez used a chair to try and deflect the rounds.
But he soon grabbed Ms Tollison and dropped the chair before they were both repeatedly shot at and killed by the three officers.
Police said they opened fire, nearly 20 times, after the man began cutting the hostage during the stand-off on 16 June.
Officers said a witness told them they saw Perez move the knife in a "sawing motion against her throat and cut her throat" after they were called to reports of a man stabbing his ex-girlfriend.
The apparent ex-girlfriend's injuries were not life-threatening.
It is the first time Los Angeles police have killed someone considered an "innocent bystander or hostage" in 13 years.
Police chief Michel Moore said: "This is another case where officers were forced to make split-second decisions based on the actions of a violent individual."
Another fatal police shooting followed just weeks later when officers attempted to stop an armed man from entering a Trader Joe's supermarket and shot the outlet's assistant manager Melyda Corado.
Police said the worker was killed before the man took hostages inside the shop on 21 July, with the police chief defending the use of deadly force as officers tried to stop what they feared could become a mass shooting.
However, Mr Moore said he was concerned about the average number of rounds being used by officers in shootings, which increased last year – as well as the increasing average number of officers involved in those shootings.
More from Los Angeles
He said new training would be given to officers with his police department looking into non-lethal weapons to equip officers with.
The police chief also said an investigation would look into whether officers adhered to hostage training.
