Lawyers for a man killed by an off-duty ICE agent are asking the AG to investigate

Attorneys for a Los Angeles man shot and killed by an off-duty federal agent on New Year’s Eve are asking the California attorney general to take over the case, saying recent comments by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell show bias against the Trump administration.

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, attorneys Ben Crump and Jamal Tooson called Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta will investigate the shooting of Keith Porter in his San Fernando Valley apartment building.

The request, they say, is based largely on their distrust of the LAPD and the US Department of Justice.

The spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety first said that an off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who lived in the same apartment was responding to the alleged “shooter” when he opened fire. Porter’s relatives say they believe he was firing a gun in the air to ring in the new year.

Tooson said witnesses have come forward to say that Porter, 43, was seen returning to his house when he was shot, and that he was not a threat to anyone. Tooson also testified that the witnesses did not hear the officer describe himself before the three shots.

“So, forgive us, if we question any allegations of self-defense,” according to Tooson, who represents Porter’s mother, Franceola Armstrong.

Crump — who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, among other high-profile civil cases — said he supports Porter’s family but is not acting as their legal counsel.

“The family had no confidence that the LAPD, with its close relationship with ICE officials, would have a fair and transparent investigation,” Crump said. “Because what they’re trying to put together is the investigation into Keith Porter’s death has no beginning. We’re not going to let that happen.”

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department responded to an investigation into the comments with a statement Tuesday afternoon that said: “The LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division-Homicide Special Section is continuing its investigation into the death of Keith Porter. At this time, no additional information is available to be released to the public.”

The deadly incident occurred at the Village Pointe Apartments on Roscoe Boulevard around 10:30 pm on December 31. Local police declined to use the Department of Homeland Security’s designation of Porter as an “active shooter.” No one else was reported injured at the scene.

Relatives of Tooson and Porter have repeatedly said that even if he was firing a gun in the air — an activity that can bring criminal charges and is frowned upon by city leaders — he was not threatening anyone and argued the agent who opened fire should have waited for the LAPD to respond.

Stacie Halpern, an attorney for the ICE agent, said there was evidence that Porter fired the first shot. A law enforcement source, who did not want to be named to discuss the ongoing investigation, echoed the allegations in The Times newspaper last month.

Halpern did not immediately respond to a request for comment left after Tuesday’s news conference.

In a statement, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said it hopes the LAPD is “conducting a thorough and independent investigation.”

“Once a case is referred to our office, we will carefully consider the evidence, review the facts, and apply the law to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate,” the statement read. “This is the same rigorous, impartial process we use in all criminal cases brought to the District Attorney’s Office.”

Porter’s death has become a rallying cry for local activists, who regularly call out his name at police commission meetings and protests. A few hours before the press conference, several speakers came to the commission meeting to demand the arrest of the federal agent.

Last month, The Times identified the officer as Brian Palacios. Palacios lived in an apartment block from where Porter was killed, and had been accused during a child custody dispute of making racist remarks about black and Latino men, according to court records reviewed by The Times. Records provided by Halpern show that allegations of child abuse were deemed unfounded by police and the LA County Department of Children and Family Services. Halpern also denied that his client ever used racist language.

In a statement released in late January, the building’s manager said “the ICE agent is no longer a tenant and has permanently vacated the property.”

In his request for an outside investigation, Tooson said McDonnell is too comfortable with ICE and other federal agencies to oversee an impartial investigation into Palacios’ conduct.

Despite months of nationwide immigration raids causing chaos in and around Los Angeles, the chief has largely avoided criticizing the Trump administration, at times bragging about the strength of the LAPD’s relationship with law enforcement. He said last week he would not implement a new California law — which is already being challenged in court — that bars ICE agents from wearing masks while on duty.

McDonnell stood by the LAPD’s policy of not getting involved in immigration enforcement. While serving as LA County sheriff during President Trump’s first term, McDonnell criticized allowing ICE access to jails when seeking inmates for deportation. His immigration status was considered a factor in the 2018 sheriff’s race, which saw McDonnell lose to Alex Villanueva.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Armstrong, Porter’s mother, said that she is always sad to think that she will wake up every day without her son who is from Compton and the father of two children.

“I will not be able to bring my son back, but I want justice for him, I want justice for my child,” she said.

Times Staff Writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.