What happened to Lionel Gibson?

​

On the afternoon of May 7, 2016, police arrived after getting a 911 call reporting a man with an Uzi-style machine gun talking to a group of people in a red Chevy SUV parked on 21st Street. When officers arrived, Lionel Gibson was standing with another man outside the SUV, the report states. Two more people were sitting inside the vehicle, according to authorities. Police ordered both men outside the SUV to put their hands up and lie flat on the ground, according to the reports. Prosecutors said officers could clearly see the grip of what appeared to be an AK-47 rifle sticking out of Gibson’s waistband, but was actually just a BB gun. Police told investigators that instead of lying on the ground, Gibson sat down and started slowly lowering his hands as officers ordered him to keep them in the air. According to officers, “Gibson continued to lower his hands, eventually turning his right palm towards the grip of the gun, in a position that would allow him to draw the weapon,” the report states. Though being a BB gun it is unlikely he intended to draw a non-lethal weapon for protection. All six officers fired their first volley of shots, according to investigators. Gibson fell to the pavement but was still alive after the gunfire, according to the report. Somewhere between a few seconds and one minute later, Gibson sat up again, three of the officers told investigators. According to officers, “Despite suffering gunshot wounds to his face and torso, Gibson again reached for the gun and continued to ignore the officers’ orders to stop moving,” The report states. They continued to open fire at Gibson. In all, 13 shots struck Gibson, according to the report.

 

What happened with his case?

​

They filed a federal lawsuit against Long Beach last year. An attorney representing Gibson’s family said he was reviewing the new report and couldn’t immediately speak to its contents. “[Gibson] was no demon,” his mother, Alice Corley, said at a vigil shortly after the shooting. “My son never hurt anyone, and if he did, he begged their pardon. My son was doing nothing wrong that day.”  

​

Police said in September that all six officers involved in the shooting — Christopher Brammer, Bernardo Barajas, Craig Hazelwood, Randall Beach, Fernando Archuleta and Rodolfo Rios — are still employed at the department and working full duty. Lawyers for Gibson’s family also are trying to force police to turn over any videos they have of the shooting. The report describes a security camera video obtained by police that shows Gibson walking down an alleyway with the BB gun shortly before the shooting, but the gunfire itself happens mostly out of frame. 

 

What can we do? 

​

1. Contact Long Beach city prosecutor demanding Gibson's case be re-opened. 

562.570.5600 , prosecutor@longbeach.gov 

​

2. Contact the Long Beach Police demanding Christopher Brammer, Bernardo Barajas, Craig Hazelwood, Randall Beach, Fernando Archuleta and Rodolfo Rios are fired immediately. 

(562) 435-6711