作者：海伦·科斯特（Helen Coster）和史蒂夫·戈尔曼（Steve Gorman）
- 摘要
- 家属律师敦促加州总检察长介入
- 家属不信任警方开展”公平透明”调查
- 移民与海关执法局批评者以明尼阿波利斯枪击案为参照看待洛杉矶该事件
洛杉矶，2月3日（路透社） – 一名43岁的加州男子基思·波特二世（Keith Porter Jr.）在新年前夜被一名卸任的美国移民与海关执法局（ICE）特工在其公寓外枪杀。其家属律师周二敦促加州总检察长对这起枪击事件展开独立调查。
著名民权律师本·克鲁姆普（Ben Crump）向记者表示，波特的亲属对洛杉矶警察局（LAPD）能否对枪击事件进行”公平透明的调查”缺乏信任。波特是两个孩子的父亲，于1月31日被枪杀。
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关于波特遇袭的细节仍不明确。根据监督ICE的美国国土安全部（DHS）称，波特是一名涉嫌”正在射击的枪手”，在与对峙的卸任移民特工交火中被击毙。
国土安全部发言人特里西亚·麦克劳克林（Tricia McLaughlin）表示，该特工身份未公开，与波特居住在同一公寓楼，当时是”在保护社区安全”。
路透社无法独立核实国土安全部的说法，洛杉矶警方也未公布该事件的详细情况。
波特家属的另一名律师贾马尔·图森（Jamal Tooson）暗示，洛杉矶警方在调查中行动迟缓。
“基思·波特去世已一个多月，我们仍未得到实质性答案，”图森在新闻发布会上表示。
他和克鲁姆普呼吁加州总检察长罗伯·邦塔（Rob Bonta）对波特之死展开独立调查，他们还将此案与上月明尼阿波利斯两名美国公民被联邦移民特工枪杀的事件（Renee Good和Alex Pretti）相提并论。
针对路透社的置评请求，邦塔办公室发表声明称，暂不”确认或否认任何潜在或正在进行的调查”。
图森称，虽然波特之死与明尼阿波利斯因总统唐纳德·特朗普下令的驱逐行动无关，但这三起案件表明，联邦移民官员”在享有豁免权的情况下拥有杀人许可”。
新年钟声敲响伴随枪声？
《洛杉矶时报》援引”朋友和支持者”的说法报道，波特当时朝天开枪庆祝新年——这种行为虽不合法但并不罕见，当局因存在危及旁观者的风险而强烈反对。
“黑人的命也是命”（BLM）组织在上月的新闻稿中也提出类似说法，称波特的庆祝性射击促使雇佣的邻居特工采取行动。根据BLM的说法，该卸任特工躲进自己公寓，”穿上战术装备，取出ICE配发的枪支”后再次外出将波特击毙。
周二新闻发布会上，图森称当时现场有”多人在开枪”，但他在走访周边后尚未找到”任何一名目击者”称看到波特开枪。
《洛杉矶时报》报道，图森此前未否认波特持有步枪，但表示他”不相信波特与特工之间有交火”。
图森称，尸检显示波特身中三枪，与一段记录中可听到三声枪响的音频一致。他表示，该录音已提交给调查人员。
周二，洛杉矶县地方检察官办公室通过电子邮件表示，警方正在调查枪击事件，地方检察官办公室的司法系统 Integrity 部门将按常规程序审查此案，但拒绝进一步置评。
报道：海伦·科斯特，补充报道：汤姆·哈尔斯，编辑：唐娜·布莱森、斯蒂芬·科茨
我们的标准：路透社信任原则
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海伦·科斯特（Helen Coster）是路透社国家事务记者，专注于政治和媒体领域，报道突发新闻、深度报道和分析文章。她此前报道2024年总统大选，重点关注共和党，此前曾报道媒体行业。
Independent probe sought in fatal shooting of Los Angeles man by off-duty ICE agent
By Helen Coster and Steve Gorman
- Lawyers for family urge California attorney general to weigh in
- Family distrusts police to conduct ‘fair and transparent’ probe
- ICE critics see LA killing in light of Minneapolis slayings
LOS ANGELES, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Lawyers for the family of a California man shot dead by an off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent outside his apartment on New Year’s Eve urged the state’s attorney general on Tuesday to open an independent investigation of the killing.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters that relatives of Keith Porter Jr., the 43-year-old father of two who was gunned down on January 31, lacked faith in the Los Angeles Police Department to conduct a “fair and transparent investigation” of the shooting.
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Details of Porter’s killing have remained sketchy. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, Porter was a suspected “active shooter” killed in an exchange of gunfire with the off-duty immigration agent who confronted him.
The officer, whose identity DHS has not made public, lived at the same apartment complex as Porter and was “protecting his community,” agency spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
Reuters could not independently verify the account given by DHS, and the Los Angeles Police Department has released few details of the incident.
Jamal Tooson, another lawyer for Porter’s loved ones, suggested the LAPD was dragging its feet in its investigation.
“It has been over a month since Keith Porter’s death, and we still haven’t gotten meaningful answers,” Tooson said at the news conference.
He and Crump called for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to initiate an independent inquiry of Porter’s death, drawing parallels to last month’s fatal shootings of two other U.S. citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
In response to a request from Reuters for comment, Bonta’s office issued a statement declining to “confirm or deny any potential or ongoing investigation.”
While Porter’s killing had nothing to do with the deportation crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump in Minneapolis, Tooson said the three killings taken together showed that federal immigration officers are “acting with immunity and a license to kill.”
RINGING IN NEW YEAR WITH GUNFIRE?
The Los Angeles Times, citing accounts of “friends and advocates,” has reported that Porter was firing a gun into the air to celebrate the new year – an illegal but not uncommon practice authorities strongly discourage because of the danger it poses to bystanders.
The group Black Lives Matter presented a similar narrative in a press release last month, saying Porter’s celebratory gunfire prompted the ICE-employed neighbor to take matters into his own hands. According to the BLM account, the off-duty agent ducked inside his own apartment, “put on his tactical gear, grabbed his ICE-issued firearm” and stepped back outside to shoot Porter dead.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Tooson said there were “multiple people” who were outside shooting at the time, but after canvassing the neighborhood himself he had yet to find “one witness” who recalled seeing Porter firing a gun.
In previous comments, Tooson has not disputed that Porter was in possession of a rifle but said he did not “believe there was any exchange of gunfire” between Porter and the agent, the Times reported.
Tooson said an autopsy found Porter was shot three times, consistent with an audio recording of the incident in which he said three gunshots can be heard. The recording has been turned over to investigators, he said.
In an email on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said LAPD was investigating the shooting, and that the DA’s Justice System Integrity Division would review the case as a matter of routine, but declined further comment.
Reporting by Helen Coster. Additional reporting by Tom Hals. Editing by Donna Bryson and Stephen Coates
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Helen Coster
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Helen Coster is a National Affairs Correspondent at Reuters, where she writes a mix of spot news, enterprise and analysis stories, with a focus on politics and media. She previously covered the 2024 presidential race, with a focus on Republicans, and before then reported on the media industry.