One officer was killed and a second injured in a shootout with a gang member who was wounded in a Monday morning altercation in Whittier, authorities said.

Three Whittier Police Department officers were responding to the scene of a traffic collision about 8 a.m. when a 26-year-old, recently paroled man driving a stolen car opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Corina.

Detectives said the alleged gunman, who is expected to survive, is also a suspect in homicide that occurred in East Los Angeles. They believe he stole a vehicle Sunday morning after killing a man, his cousin, then drove into Whittier, where he encountered the police.

The slain officer was identified as Keith Boyer, a 27-year veteran of the department.


Update: Police chief says Whittier officer’s slaying shows danger of criminal justice reform, but details are unclear »

Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper broke down in tears recounting Boyer, whom he described as a close friend and beloved member of the department. He said Boyer was a mentor to others in the department and had recently talked about retiring.

Boyer played in a community band that performed for charity. At the police station, he was known for his sunny, friendly disposition and willingness to lend help and offer advice, the chief said.

“He was the best of the best,” Piper said tearfully during a Monday afternoon news conference. “This is an unbelievably senseless tragedy.”


Whittier Officer Keith Boyer (Associated Press)

Piper said the shooting suspect, whose name has not been made public, was released from custody early. He blamed the early release on a series of new laws designed to reduce incarcerations in California.

Neither Piper nor the Sheriff’s Department offered specific information about his record or how he was released early. But the chief said Boyer’s killing showed how these laws have made the streets less safe.

“We need to wake up. Enough is enough,” he said.


Two officers were hit by gunfire and taken to UC Irvine Medical Center, where Boyer was pronounced dead, Corina said. The wounded officer is in stable condition while the suspect was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

The shooter, according to police, had been involved in a traffic accident with another vehicle near Colima Road and Mar Vista Street, and approached the driver he had rear-ended to help push his silver car to the side of a road around the corner.

Police officers arrived in three cars and approached the man, who was seated in the silver car, Corina said. He got out and as officers moved to pat him down, he pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting at close range.

“He started firing at the officers and they returned fire,” Corina said. “We are still looking into that, why he just opened fire.”


Officers believed they were responding to a routine traffic call and did not know the vehicle was stolen when they approached.

“It seems like a simple traffic accident and next thing they know they’re in a gunfight,” Corina said, adding that “you never know when you respond to a call, what you are going to run into.”

Corina said both officers were wearing bulletproof vests and were shot in the body.

Police have not identified the shooter pending the ongoing investigation, but described him as a Los Angeles gang member who had been released on parole within the last two weeks and had many tattoos, including on his neck and face. He was driving a stolen car from East L.A.


The accused gunman is suspected of fatally shooting his 46-year-old cousin, Roy Torres, early Monday, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said. Torres was killed at 5:29 a.m. in the 1400 block of Volney Drive in East Los Angeles, according to the department.

1 / 25 Los Angeles County firefighters salute as a hearse carrying slain Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer arrives at Rose Hill Memorial Park in Whittier on Feb. 21, 2017. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 25 Whittier Police Officer Richard Jensen is comforted by other officers at Rose Hill Memorial Park. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 25 Toni Rodriguez offers prayers at a makeshift memorial for Officer Keith Boyer in front of the police station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 25 People visit a make shift memorial for slain Whittier police officer, Keith Boyer, in front of police station to pay their respects. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 25 Abisai Espinales, with her dog, Mila, stops to pray at the make shift memorial for slain Whittier police officer Keith Boyer in front of police station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 25 Vietnam veteran Frank Ventura salutes to pay his respects at the makeshift memorial for slain Whittier police officer Keith Boyer. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 25 Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper, right, and other law enforcement personnel escort the body of a slain Whittier police officer from UC Irvine Medical Center. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 8 / 25 The body of a slain Whittier police officer is escorted from UC Irvine Medical Center to a van to be driven to the coroners. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 9 / 25 Brianna Michaud, left, and her mother Cherylynn Michaud pray at a vigil for slain Whittier police officer Keith Boyer. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 10 / 25 Whittier Chief of Police Jeff Piper tears up and is comforted by Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri while speaking at a vigil. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 11 / 25 Kim Williams, center, bows her head during a prayer at a vigil for slain Whittier police officer Keith Boyer. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 12 / 25 Joanne Carrel holds a black and white American flag by a picture of slain Whittier police officer Keith Boyer during a vigil at the Whittier police station. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 13 / 25 Marta Hernandez, who has a son who works at the Whittier Police Department, hugs Corporeal Jessi Pollnow after the press conference. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 25 Whittier Police Department officers standby during a press conference about the death of Officer Keith Boyer. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 25 Whittier Police Department Chief Jeff A. Piper pauses while speaking at a press conference about the death of Officer Keith Boyer. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 25 The Honor Guard stands at the memorial for fallen officers at the Whittier Police Department before a press conference. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 25 Flowers are left for Officer Keith Boyer at the Whittier Police Department. Boyer was killed and a second injured in a shootout with a gang member. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 25 Fire personnel salute as the body of a slain Whittier police officer is driven from UC Irvine Medical Center to the coroners. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 19 / 25 Fire personnel salute as the body of a slain Whittier police officer is driven from UC Irvine Medical Center to the coroners. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 20 / 25 Investigators comb the scene on Mar Vista Street in Whittier after one police officer was killed and another injured while responding to a traffic collision. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 21 / 25 The injured suspect is loaded into an ambulance at the shooting scene in Whittier. (OnScene.TV ) 22 / 25 Whittier police with a suspect in a shooting Monday morning in Whittier at Colima Road and Mar Vista Street. (Brian Feinzimer) 23 / 25 A police officer carries a gun belt at the shooting scene in Whittier. (Brian Feinzimer) 24 / 25 Whittier Police investigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting in the area of Mar Vista Street and Colima Road. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 25 Shattered glass is visible on the street next to a parked Whittier police SUV after a shooting Monday. (KTLA) ()

It was the first fatal shooting of a police officer in Whittier in more than 37 years, Mayor Joe Vinatieri said.

“This is a very sad day for our officers, the families involved, the Whittier Police Department and our community,” Vinatieri said. “But we’re pulling together. And we’re going to take care of these families and we’re going to take care of this police department.”


Investigators are still trying to piece together what motive the shooter had to fire on officers and have not interviewed him yet because he is being treated at the hospital, Corina said.

Emergency responders at the scene performed CPR on a male officer while wheeling him into an ambulance, said Brian Feinzimer, a freelance photojournalist who was at the scene as authorities responded Monday morning.

Also visible in the eastbound lanes of Mar Vista Street east of Colima Road was a Whittier police SUV with shattered windows and a suspect who was handcuffed facedown on the pavement, Feinzimer said.


The shootout unfolded in a quiet and lushly landscaped neighborhood of suburban tract homes, churches, sports parks and rolling hills.

Near the scene, a woman and young girl dressed in plaid shirts stopped in their SUV and hugged a Whittier police officer at the yellow police tape near the Friendly Hills Country club.

Monday afternoon, a procession of police vehicles traveled from the hospital, accompanying the slain officer’s body to the Orange County coroner’s office. Their cars were greeted by a line of law enforcement officers who saluted as the procession drove by.

The Whittier Police Department has about 128 sworn officers who patrol the cities of Whittier and Santa Fe Springs in southeastern Los Angeles County.


City officials invited the public to attend a prayer vigil 6 p.m. Monday at the Whittier Police Department.

Monday’s shooting marks the third time a police officer in Whittier was slain in the line of duty in the department’s 100-year history. Whittier officers were killed in 1977 and 1979, according to the city.

Boyer is survived by several children.

The lawman also had another life as a drummer. A few times a month for the last two years, he’d drive nearly two hours south to Temecula to play with Mrs. Jones’ Revenge, a classic-rock tribute band that performs at wineries and weddings. He’d split up with his fiancée, who lived in Temecula, but he still came down to make music, band leader Jeff McNeal said.


“It was probably a nice release for him, with the kind of high-stress work he does,” said McNeal, 57, adding that Boyer’s technical skill as a drummer “elevated” the band.

“One of the reasons I didn’t initially ask if he wanted to join was I assumed as a cop, he’s probably a Type A personality, he’s gonna want to be in control. But I was totally wrong about that,” McNeal said. “I was afraid we’d have arguments, but he was extremely enthusiastic and very supportive. Probably the easiest guy in the whole band. Always willing to play. He loved the music. It was his passion.”

“Radar Love” by Golden Earring was one of Boyer’s favorite songs to play, McNeal said.

tony.barboza@latimes.com | @tonybarboza


richard.winton@latimes.com | @LAcrimes

Times staff writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report.

ALSO

Dangerous flooding likely as powerful storm barrels into Northern California


No surprise here: Los Angeles is the world’s most traffic-clogged city, study finds

It’s legal for an immigration agent to pretend to be a police officer outside someone’s door. But should it be?

UPDATES:

8:25 p.m.: This article was updated with authorities identifying the man killed early Monday.


5:10 p.m.: This article was updated with biographic information on Boyer.

4:05 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the alleged gunman being a suspect in an East Los Angeles homicide and comments from the Whittier police chief.

3:10 p.m. This article was updated with new details and comment from the Whittier mayor.

1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with information about other officers slain in Whittier in previous years.


1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the police procession.

12:04 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the traffic accident and shooting.

11:41 a.m.: This article was updated with new information from the Sheriff’s Department.

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with the death of a police officer, information from a photographer at the scene and with information on the Whittier Police Department.


This article was originally published at 10 a.m.