The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) identified Officer Mackey Hurtado of Mission Division as being involved in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Joanna Lua in Panorama City. 

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, questioned the shooting and called for trained mental health professionals to be deployed to future incidents to prevent unnecessary fatalities. 

“We’ve had these tragedies before. Joanna Lua was not the first, and unfortunately, probably won’t be the last,” said Hutchinson. 

The incident occurred on Saturday, June 15, at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, between Gledhill and Vincennes streets, when officers responded to a call at 12:30 a.m. saying that Lua was armed with a knife and threatening family members. 

Officers positioned themselves outside the apartment’s front door and said they tried to communicate with those inside to gain entry. After a short time, the officers claim they heard screaming and a loud banging, which they believed was Lua trying to gain access to where her family members were located.

They then forced entry into the front door, where officers said they “encountered Lua advancing toward them, still armed with a knife.”

Police said they issued verbal commands to drop the 10-inch bread knife, but that Lua continued to move towards them with the knife raised in her hand. 

Hurtado responded by firing shots that struck Lua, while a TASER was simultaneously discharged, according to an LAPD statement. 

LA Fire Department paramedics took Lua to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

“The police should not be the first responder to an individual experiencing a mental trauma and who poses a potential physical threat to others,” said Hutchinson.

 To avoid violence and physical confrontations when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, which Hutchinson suspects that Lua was undergoing at the time, there need to be “professionals that are trained in counseling, trained in psychological therapeutic techniques and understand how to talk people down.”

He mentioned that numerous studies have shown that “individuals had a mental challenge in the overwhelming majority of cases where there’s been the use of deadly force by officers,” and that in 90% of the cases where a trained first responder has been present, “there’s been no arrest, or … physical injury,” including officer involved shootings (OIS).  

Hutchinson believes it’s unfair to put officers in these situations when they aren’t equipped with the proper training. 

“It’s unfair to the [police] departments, it’s unfair to the police officers themselves, and it’s certainly unfair to the citizens,” he said.

Despite LA implementing an Unarmed Model of Crisis Response pilot program, Hutchinson said he hasn’t seen any evidence that the program is actively used. 

Lua’s death is another example of why the Urban Policy Roundtable continues to call on LA officials to implement an emergency crisis response team that can be deployed for these situations alongside LAPD, said Hutchinson. 

“It’s not to say the police should not be there,” he noted. “But they should not be there in the primary role. … They’re not the first resort, they’re the last resort.”

“If there’s any way to avoid a future Joanna Lua, we want to make sure that happens,” he said. “Our only concern is saving lives.”