LAPD Officer's Training Death Is Suspicious, Lawyer Claims

NORTHRIDGE, CA — An attorney for the family of a Los Angeles Police Department officer killed during a training exercise claimed Tuesday that the department is misleading the public about the circumstances surrounding the officer's death.

At a news conference, Attorney Bradley Gage showed reporters witness declarations and images of CAT scans, showing staples in late officer Houston Tipping's head after the fatal training exercise in May. According to Gage, the staples contradict the department's official account of the incident.

The nature of Tipping's injuries — which included a broken rib, liver damage and three broken vertebra — indicates he was intentionally beaten, Gage alleged.

"When you look at all these horrific injuries, the truth is something went seriously wrong here," Gage said. "The injuries to the head with all the other injuries tell us there was significant force. You don't get head lacerations needing at least six staples, three broken vertebra, a collapsed lung, broken rib and liver damage just from grappling. So we know that the explanation from the LAPD is untrue."

According to Gage, the scans contradict Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore's earlier statements that Tipping did not sustain any laceration to the head during the May 26 training incident.

Citing pending litigation, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson declined to respond to the allegations.

Moore told the Los Angeles Police Commission on June 28 that Tipping was "not struck or beaten."

"Officer Tipping did not sustain any laceration to the head, any cut or otherwise to his head as a result of his fall to the ground when he and another officer during a training exercise fell to the ground," Moore told the Los Angeles Police Commission.

Tipping was acting as a bike instructor for a training scenario that involved him grappling with another officer. Tipping fell to the ground and injured his spinal cord, according to an LAPD statement immediately after the incident.

He died on May 29 — three days after he injured his spinal cord during the training exercise.

The department opened an investigation that included recorded interviews of everyone present at the scene and a review of the training course, Moore said.

Tipping's mother Shirley Huffman alleged in a legal claim filed with the city that her son was beaten by other officers during a simulated mob training exercise. "Intentional assaults and batteries" against Tipping resulted in a broken neck, paralysis in all four limbs and heart stoppage, Huffman claimed.

Gage on Tuesday presented two witness statements along with corroborating photos of a CAT scan that seemingly shows staples in Tipping's head. The statements included a firefighter and a registered nurse who both visited Tipping at the hospital on May 27 and either felt or visually saw the staples, according to to witness declarations.

Moore's claim that Tipping did not suffer a head injury raised questions about why the department is withholding information, Gage said. Tipping's family is hungry for answers especially given inconsistent messaging from the department, Gage added.

"We want to see the truth, and we want to protect other officers from similar acts of harm," Gage said.

The LAPD's account of what the training incident entailed and whether video evidence exists has been inconsistent, Gage said. If the training incident was intended to simulate a mob, the death also raises questions about police practices, Gage added.

Gage urged District Attorney George Gascón to initiate an investigation into the incident.

Tipping was a police officer for five years and was working at the Devonshire Community Police Station in Northridge at the time of his death. Tipping was outgoing, productive and a mentor for many officers at the Devonshire Community Police Station, Lt. Nemecheck told Patch immediately after Tipping's death.

"He felt that [being a police officer] was how he could do the most good for the community, protecting individuals and so he became a police officer," Gage said.