An independent autopsy of Andrés Guardado, an 18-year-old killed by an L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy last month, found he was shot in the back five times, according to Guardado's family.
“These findings confirm what we have known all along, which is that Andrés was unjustifiably killed by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy,” Guardado’s parents, Cristóbal and Elisa Guardado, said in a statement.
The Guardado family commissioned its own autopsy while it awaits the county’s official one. The autopsy was performed by forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet I. Omalu.
Preliminary forensic toxicology results show that Guardado “did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the incident,” according to a press release from the Guardado family’s attorneys.
Sheriff’s officials said Guardado produced a handgun at the scene, which his family disputes.
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GIVES (SCANT) UPDATE
At a news conference Wednesday, L.A. County Sheriff's Department Commander Chris Marks said the deputy who fired six rounds during the incident had not been interviewed yet and cannot be compelled to talk during the criminal investigation because of his Fifth Amendment rights.
“We want his cooperation, we want his statement, so we are on his time table on that,” Marks said.
“The principal deputy who did, in fact, fire his weapon and struck Andrés Guardado, is scheduled to be interviewed by Sheriff’s Bureau homicide investigators but that has not yet occurred."
Marks didn’t say when the Sheriff's Department would release findings from its investigation.
“Generally speaking, these investigations will last a few months,” Marks said.
INSPECTOR GENERAL DEMANDS ANSWERS
The county's inspector general sent a letter Wednesday to Sheriff Alex Villanueva asking that evidence recovered in the investigation of Guardado's death be handed over "immediately." According to the letter, Inspector General Max Huntsman first asked for the materials on June 22 and has received no response.
READ THE FULL LETTER:
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