Where the blame belongs

There are a lot of vile and ill-informed accusations out there against the police in connection with the death of Suzie Marie Pena -- and I don’t think we should accept them.

Jose Raul Pena alone is responsible for this tragedy. It was Jose Pena who family members said was abusing alcohol and cocaine, making him irrational. It was Jose Pena who began waving a handgun and firing at passersby, prompting calls to the police by the public. It was Jose Pena who fired without warning, indiscriminately, at arriving police officers. It was Jose Pena who shot and wounded an LAPD officer.

Police officers did not threaten to kill Pena’s wife, his 17-year-old stepdaughter and his infant daughter -- Jose Pena did. Police officers did not fire first in this confrontation -- Jose Pena did.

If someone begins shooting up a neighborhood, the police will respond. If the shooter puts others in danger, the police are not going to walk away. When someone shoots 40 rounds out of a building, it is the job of the Los Angeles Police Department to disarm the shooter quickly and at the least risk to all who are in harm’s way -- including passersby, neighbors and officers themselves.

The citizens of Los Angeles are extremely fortunate in that the LAPD has one of the best and most lauded SWAT teams in the nation to respond to hostage situations. Our SWAT team is so effective that it has been 25 years since a hostage has been lost.

Today, our officers are devastated. They did everything by the book, everything according to their training, and gave their best efforts. Many of our SWAT officers are parents themselves, and they can tell you that there is nothing more devastating than the futile loss of a child.

Was this death their fault? No. When a father puts his child in the line of fire and continues to shoot at police officers, the blame for the tragedy is his alone.