Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper says the man suspected of shooting an officer to death on Monday is an example of how statewide efforts to reduce incarceration of certain criminals can have tragic consequences.

“We need to wake up. Enough is enough,” Piper said at an emotional news conference on Monday, the day Officer Keith Boyer was killed. “This is a senseless, senseless tragedy that did not need to be.”

But authorities have yet to release the name of the suspect, so it’s unclear how the criminal justice reform measures may have affected his incarceration or release. Authorities say they will release his name on Tuesday.

What do we know about the suspect?

Not much. He is 26. Police said he was released from custody early, but they did not provide details on his criminal history or why he was released.


It’s unclear what crimes placed him in custody to begin with. Police described him as a known gang member.

Hours before his run-in with Whittier police, the man is suspected of fatally shooting his 46-year-old cousin in East Los Angeles and stealing his car. The slain man was identified as Roy Torres.

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) ()

What laws are the chief and other law enforcement officials referring to?

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell pointed to three measures enacted in the last seven years — Propositions 47 and 57 and Assembly Bill 109 — that he said have led to the release of too many criminals without creating a proper safety net of mental health, drug rehabilitation and other services.


“We’re putting people back on the street that aren’t ready to be back on the street,” McDonnell said. He said the county jail system he runs, the largest in the nation, has become a “default state prison.”

Sheriff’s officials have long criticized Proposition 47, which was approved by voters in 2014 and downgraded some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

They say AB 109 — which moved state prisoners to local lockups — has pushed lower-level offenders out of custody and onto the streets, offering little deterrent against committing new crimes.

Proposition 57, which passed last year, changed California’s “three strikes” rule and made sentencing more flexible, allowing some prisoners who wouldn’t normally have been eligible for early parole to be considered for release.


× A day after one Whittier police officer was shot and killed and another wounded, Whittier residents come to a growing memorial to grieve Officer Keith W. Boyer.

Haven’t police blamed Proposition 47 for crime increases?

Yes. LAPD officials and those in other agencies believe the ballot measure is one reason for a rise in crime, but Proposition 47 backers dispute that.

In Los Angeles County, the jail population has decreased, from 18,500 inmates just before Proposition 47 passed to about 16,500 inmates in November. Narcotics arrests have dropped, with busy police officers deciding that the time needed to process a case is not worth it.

The result, some law enforcement officials say, is that more criminals are now on the streets instead of in jail and are not receiving the drug and mental health treatment the measure had promised. Without the threat of a felony prosecution, they say, defendants are less likely to choose treatment as an alternative to serving time.


But supporters of Proposition 47 dispute the theory that crime increases are connected to the measure. Misdemeanors can still result in sentences of up to a year in jail, and it is up to police officers and prosecutors to enforce those penalties, Michael Romano, a lecturer at Stanford Law School told The Times in December.

“The idea that Proposition 47 has been responsible for an increase in crime in California over the past year or two is fake news, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

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