Long Beach Family Demands Answers In Deadly Police Shooting Of Man, 19
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A Long Beach family is calling for an investigation into the shooting death of a 19-year-old man by police.
The family of Hector Morejon and their attorney are demanding that Long Beach police identify the officer who was involved in the incident last Thursday.
The shooting happened in the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue.
As KCAL9's Rachel Kim reports, it was there Morejon was shot and killed by a Long Beach officer who believed he was pointing a gun at him while responding to a trespassing and vandalism call at a vacant apartment.
"Whoever did this, they deserve the punishment that any other criminal does," said Ruben Gonzales, Morejon's brother.
The family also wants Morejon's body released to them.
Their attorney Sonia Mercado said she learned Friday that a security hold has been placed on the body.
"Today, the Coroner's office advised me by telephone that somebody had put a hold on the body, a security hold," Mercado said.
Long Beach police have only said that they thought Morejon had a gun. Inside the apartment, investigators say they found gang-related graffiti but did not locate a weapon.
"If somebody is drawing graffiti on a board, which he wasn't, but that doesn't deserve the death penalty," Mercado said.
Gonzales added: "All we want is our brother back to put him to rest and we can't even do that."
The Coroner's office told CBS2 the security hold has been placed on information being released in the case but cannot confirm a hold on the body.