Los Angeles Police Officer Critically Injured in Shooting with Armed Robbery Suspect

Los Angeles:   An LAPD officer was critically wounded Saturday night during a shooting with an armed robbery suspect in Southwest Los Angeles.

Based on the preliminary investigation, on June 3, 2006, around 10:30 p.m., Southwest Area Officer Kristina Ripatti and her partner, Officer Joe Meyer, were patrolling the area of La Salle and Leighton Avenues, in the Exposition Park area.  A man ran directly in front of their marked patrol car, mid-block on Leighton Avenue.  The officers slowed their vehicle to avoid hitting him, exited their vehicle and followed the suspect, 52-year-old James Fenton McNeal.

McNeal reached the front porch of a nearby residence, turned, pointed a gun at the officers and fired. An officer involved shooting occurred.  McNeal was struck in the torso and died at the scene.  Officer Ripatti was struck twice by the suspect's gunfire, and was taken by paramedics to California Hospital Medical Center, where she remains in critical but stable condition, with serious wounds.

It was later learned that the suspect had just committed a robbery at a local gas station.  McNeal, a career criminal, had served multiple prison terms for a long list of violent crimes, including armed robbery and murder.  He was most recently released from the Central Men's Colony, San Luis Obispo, on August 18, 2002, after serving 9 years for attempted robbery, and subsequently spent 3 years on parole, ending November 18, 2005.

Officer Ripatti is 33 years old and has been with the Los Angeles Police Department for 10 years.  She is married to LAPD Police Officer Tim Pearce, also a 10-year veteran of the department, a classmate and former partner of Officer Ripatti.  He is among the officers who responded to the shooting scene.  They have a 15-month-old daughter.

"This occurrence is a tragic reminder of the dangers that the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department face every single day.  It underscores the bravery and sacrifice they routinely exhibit in seeking to protect our citizens from criminals and enforce the rule of law in our streets," said Police Chief William J. Bratton.  "Our prayers and deep concern are with Officer Ripatti and her family."

Comments

[laniece]

I am sorry to hear about Officer Ripatti, I am glad she is recovering, God has something enormous for her to do, as far as the deceased suspect, may God have mercy on your soul. You could have woke up today like anyone else, but you chose your own fate. Very sad.

[Paul Huebl]

She’s a wife and mother who is struggling to survive this morning in a local hospital. Her copper husband, Tim Pearce is somehow coping with the aftermath caused by the bleeding heart politicians that run California’s criminal justice system.

The now dead armed robber, James Fenton McNeal, 52 who shot officer Kristina Ripatti twice, had served multiple prison terms for crimes that included robbery and murder. We must ask ourselves why do we keep electing politicians who insist on the failed policies of letting repeat offenders roam our streets while insisting we be saddled with insane gun laws that only restrict the rights of the law-abiding?

California’s draconian gun laws are enforceable only on the law abiding and never prevent thugs like McNeal from obtaining and criminally using their guns. McNeal is yet another poster boy that proves gun laws just don’t work. It’s long past the time for reform of California’s gun laws to return to the law-abiding their right to carry concealed weapons for self-protection.

We can only hope our hero officer, Kristine Ripatti and her family can somehow quickly heal from this horrible ordeal both physically and emotionally. Officer Rippatti deserves all of our gratitude for having that special courage to confront and deal with a desperate armed robber.

[Frank]

May God comfort Officer Ripatti and help her recover fully soon!

Thank God the robber was shot and killed. That is one less filth we would of have to support in prison for the rest of his life.

L.A. TIMES... THE GOOD OL' LA TIMES!!! I read the article of the shooting this morning in the California section.. And of course as you might predict..

In the sixth paragraph, the writer Louis Sahagun writes Officers may have improperly treated McNeal (the animal that shot the officer)after he was shot.

My blood boiled after i read that. I might have improperly treated this writer if he was next to me at the time i read that!

The nerve of him to write something like this off the wall!

Where did you get your information? The same people out there that HATE the Police, the parolee that was waiting for a victim around the corner? The drunk that was past out at the bus bunch?

Obviously you have no shame as a writer and your family is embarassed to claim you as a family member!

[Niklas " Swedish policeofficer"]

I´m so sorry to hear about a wounded officer. I hope that she will recovery soon.
I will make a prayer for her.

Keep up the good work!

[Al]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Ripatti, Officer Pearce, their family memebers as well as the rest of the L.A.P.D. family. May God bless each and everyone of you.

[Michael Brox]

god be with officer Ripatti, her husband and their family...

[B&W Op]

I can't wait until the L.A. Times publishes the Little League photos of the dead parolee, and his family sues the city for wrongful death. That is par for the course in this socialist city of ours. It's always the police who is at fault.

May God help Officer Ripatti and her family in her full recovery.

[bubba]

Status quo in L.A., an officer is critically wounded by a scumbag parollee and the top story on channel 7 news the next day is "the heat wave in L.A." When are the citizens of L.A. going to wake up and stop believing all of the propaganda spewed out by the liberal media. We have the finest police force in the world who risk their lives everyday in one of the most dangerous cities. It is time for the citizens to show more support for the L.A.P.D. and less tolerance for the criminals running wild in L.A.

[curtis]

god bless her and we will pray for her and her family

[Mary]

Her picture and smile is so sweet
and warming! I get that same sick and maddening feeling when Lacy Petersons picture was all over and her smile and personality was so radiant.
This is really heart braking and yes, disgusting these career criminals get out of jail to repeat the same crimes!!

All I can say is her loved ones and friends have to have faith because the world will not rob them of such a vibrant and brave,mother,friend,wife and protector of the community.

To Officer Pearce,please have all the faith you can possibly have for you and your daughter and don't forget she has allot of protection and angels around her!!

You and your daughter are ofcourse her biggest angels!!!

I will send her all the prayers and healing!!

[yariv]

As a fellow police man in my country, i would like to send my regards to officers ripatti and pearce. loosing a fellow police man always hearts enough, loosing a fellow police man who's your wife/housmand and a mother is another ball game ,saying the least. I was glad to know officer ripatti survived and fighting, may god be on your side. To officer pearce, as a police man and a housband I believe that working in L.A. forces you to be strong and proffesional, because of the lots of work and the facing of hostiles on every day basis, trying to protect the citizans and especialy your family.working for 10 years makes you a survivor kind of person as your wife as well, and now you have another test, if not the bigges.I pray you and your wife will overcome together and get stronger, my heart is with you guys, be strong.

[Michael Williamson]

Christina is one of the finest and best police officers that I know. May God Bless her and protect her. May God Bless her husband and child. Recover quickly

[Monica]

Ofcr. Ripatti being shot wasn't on the front page of any newspapers. I guarantee if there was a story about wrong doing of an officer they would have put it on the front. People need to start using their voice and speak out, e-mail and call the media outlets. Its about time we stand behind our officers who are being shot at on a routine basis. Our politicans need to come out and support our officers and denounce these coward acts of violence from thugs who should be behind bars. My prayers are with Ofcr. Ripatti, her husband and family. Also to the female Newton ofcr. who was hit by a drunk driver and is still recovering.

[RCJP]

Where's John Mack? Where's Judge Fees? Where's Cherkasky?

[Ed]

The day following Officer Ripatti being shot by a piece of human excrement parolee, the headlines on the paper of record for Los Angeles read "Are quilts fading into obscurity?", and that was above the fold! The Los Angeles times is supposed to be the paper of record, not only for the city of Los Angeles, but arguably one of the three major papers of the country. Having have said that, they are a liberal rag, were most of the time it has no better use than catching a puppies urinary and fecal waste on the kitchen floor. Back to the title of the LA Times top story. The title should have read "The safety of the people of Los Angeles has faded into obscurity" along with the journalistic integrity of the LA Times!
Officer Ripatti encompasses everything that is what an aggressive Police Officer should be. Anyone who has worked with or around her knows that she is not your typical female Officer. Nor is she your typical Police officer, everyone you speak with would tell you that she is one of the best Police Officers that they know! And on the night in question she did what she has done for TEN years, and that's aggressively chase down violent criminals and gang members. And that's with all the resistance and road blocks she has encountered along the way, by the upper echelon of the L.A.P.D., the police commission, city counsel and the Mayor. Officer Ripatti, working in South Central Los Angeles was hard on the gang members and predators and when she is around they are the hunted, not their victims. And anyone who's mind is guided by logic and reality would expect that kind of Police work to be conducted on a regular basis. But reality is that most Police Officers, including Officer Ripatti, that are aggressive and chase gang members that are armed with guns, on a regular basis get benched and red flagged as a "high risk Officers!" That is unless you work for the Integrity unit in internal affairs, then it's ok if you get into an IOS as long as you police up your brass and get out of dodge before the real Police Officers get there. By order of the Police Chief and city leaders it's not a good business desision to allow your Police Officers to chase bad guys, hence "Risk Management!" If the Chief and the city leaders had their way Officer Ripatti would have gone to the gas station and took a robery report. Instead they did some real Police work and as a result, the suspect was brazen enough to shoot a Police Officer. Luckily the suspect ended up with several 45 caliber 230 grain projectiles in all the right places. And he was sent to answer to the type of Judge that won't hug a tree then let him go free for good behavior. If a gang member will shoot a Police Officer, what do you think he will do to the average Joe citizen? Wake up Los Angeles, these elected officials are playing with your safety. Tittle of next Sunday's, LA Times "Compliments of you City Leadership, your safety is fading into OBSCURITY!" Get with the program Times, your ink well is drying up fast.
Officer Ripatti is a HERO! It is a shame that for all the great things that she has done for the people of this city, it takes her almost losing her life, for the, cough, cough, cough "leadership" of this city and the L.A.P.D. to recognize her for her significant contribution.
I was there for the debacle that followed the shooting, thank God for the SWAT coppers that undoubtedly saved her life.
God bless Officer Ripatti, her husband and their child. And to the rest of my brothers and sisters, SAY SAFE.

[Chris]

I am glad to hear that the officer is recovering.

With the significant increase in the number of guns in the hands of suspects, has the department considered requiring the wearing of bullet proof vests. If not, is it because of the cost involved. It would seem to me that this would be money that could come from Homeland Security.

[Katherine Livesey]

GOd Bless Officer Ripatti, her husband and young daughter. This is a chilling reminder of what our men and women face every day they leave their homes. I cannot thank the men and women of LAPD enough for putting their lives in danger for the benefit of all. And to the LA Times....show some respect!

[Pearce]

Thanks for all the kind comments!I am Kristinas brother in-law, my brother is Tim Pearce, the Criminal in no way was treated badly, Kristina didnt even have her gun drawn, she was simply chasing the suspect, caught him, grabbed him, he turned around and shot five times, she was wearing the bulletproof vest, but one bullet hit her forearm, the other entered under the armpit (just above the vest) severed an artery, and lodged in her spine I think it may have severed it... immediately after the shots were fired, her partner shot and killed the suspect..she will probably be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

[Scott Schory]

Please excuse the addressing of the Fire Service, the article is to be published in July's CSFA magazine, not to disregard our great Police Agencies, I was just trying to meet a time constraint for publishing.

Six degrees of separation

As I approach my fifteen year service pin in the Fire Service, I am again forcefully reminded of the delicate inter-relation and balance of all things.

It is stated, by the rule of six degrees of separation, that each of us can somehow relate two apparently unrelated things to a common strand by less than six tangents, or degrees of separation. Some people also refer to this anomaly as “the butterfly effect.”

I have found this to be both relevant and confounding at particular times throughout my life…the relevance here in the attached press release, hit me especially hard this past Sunday night.

My younger brother called to inform me that, his sister in-law, who serves as an LAPD officer in the Southwest Division was shot in the line of duty, although severely injured and in critical but stable condition, Kristina continues to fight for her life.

What does all of this mean to me, you may be asking? Well, allow me to explain just how short the six degrees of separation is for me and my family.

Kristina Ripatti (the wounded officer) is married to Officer Tim Pearce, also of LAPD’s Southwest Division. Tim Pearce is the younger brother of Kimberlee Schory. Kimberlee is married to my younger brother Steven and my brother as I’m sure you already guessed is related to me. Thus the degrees of separation here is 4 of the 6 tangents.

Although Kristina and Tim and their fifteen month old daughter Jordan, are not directly related to me, by marriage or blood, they are nonetheless a cherished, loved and integral part of my extended family. I regard them as blood kin and respect and treat them as such, as I believe many of us do with our families.

The relevance of what I type here today is only that I ask each of you, my Fire Service brothers and sisters, to take account of your lives and be reminded of the delicate balance that life holds for each and every one of us.

We cannot alter the things that happen in life, we can only ask for the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the strength to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Make the opportunity to express what the people in our lives mean to us and how much we care about them. Talk to them, hug them, play games with them and I guarantee you will have enriched their lives as much as your own.

I would further ask, that you set aside a moment of your time to keep my extended family in your thoughts and prayers, during this trying time and also to recognize the frailty of your own existence.

If possible, perhaps the statewide Fire Service Associations and/or Service Organizations could pledge a unified thought, donation, monetary contribution or other support as you deem most fitting. I would ask this as a unified pledge of support between all public safety and service organizations and agencies.

As of this writing, my sister in-law’s injuries are very grave. Kristina was shot once in the right forearm & once in the left armpit area. Yet the doctors remain cautiously optimistic, as does my family.

You may find this article pleading, trust me, it is not intentional. The only intent is for us all to have a greater understanding of all things around us that can and will at some point in our lives have a profound affect on each of us, whether it is professional or personal, in my case, a little bit of both.

So the next time that butterfly flaps her wings in Afghanistan and a tsunami hits in Singapore, think about it and the ripple like effect it may cause for you.

Many thanks to the CSFA staff for publishing this short piece, I hope it holds a message for each us.

Contributions can be made to the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation @ lapmf.org or additional information may be obtained at lapdmf@sbcglobal.net.

The Foundation serves the needs of deceased Officer’s families and maintains an Officer Vigilance Program for those who have not perished in the performance of their duties.

God bless my family and especially Kristina, Tim & Jordan.

Professionally & fraternally,

Scott A. Schory, Captain, Fort Irwin Fire Department
U.S. Army National Training Center, California

[Yolanda]

This may sound cruel to some of you liberal people, but I truly do not care. Kristina, her husband Tim and Joe all worked for, or around me for several years when I was assigned to Southwest Division as a Sergeant. She was one of the hardest, most dedicated officers I have know in my 19-years with the Los Angeles Police Department. She has always put the Department and the City of Los Angeles first. She never backed down to the ever demanding, and increasing challenges faced on a daily basis. It hurt very much when I heard the news about Kristina and I pray for her and Tim and their daughter, as well as what Joe is, and will go through the rest of their lives.

As for the "B......." that caused this to occur. He should have be put to death by the State of California after murdering someone several years ago. Instead, he was given a sentence that allowed him to be released and continue his violent criminal acts. What a shame. This country that we live in should adopt the policies of countries like China; you steal, you have your hand chopped off; you kill, you are killed.

Joe however did what the State of California couldn't. He saved the world from allowing McNeal from ever harming anyone ever again; from the State of California supporting his worthless life anymore than we already have, and showed his mother what should have happened to him at, or prior to his worthless birth. Thank you Joe!

Thank God Kristina was working with Joe. If not for him, Kristina would not be here today to watch her daughter grow into a beautiful woman with Kristina and Tim's values. And with the rest of us.

May God be with all law enforcement officers everywhere.

[Mary]

How on earth does that sound cruel? I think 99.9% of the people on this board would agree.or maybe I'm naive

[A Casual Bystander]

>has the department
>considered requiring
>the wearing of bullet
>proof vests.

She was wearing a bulletproof vest. The bullet entered through the arm opening.

(Side note to the editor: you should consider enabling simple HTML markup in public posts, so one can quote using ital, etc.)

[Bernard]

I consider myself liberal but I also have an opinion about this incient and others like it. This is yet another reminder of how society has lost respect for authority. Its a dangerous job out there and we need to all look out for each other, regardless of who's badge you wear. Once again another example of how the 'System' has failed. We in the public service community have to look out for each other because you never know which Joe Citizen is the next recently paroled felon. My prayers are with Ofcr. Ripatti and family. Thank
God for her and her partner and the police officers doing the job everyday the right way who never get recognition.

[Mary]

??? Is this really an issue and could you have found a more appropriate post to put this on or email it,casual bystander?

[EDITH]

i am glad to hear the officer was not killed by that cold hearted person.. but he paid for his mistakes... thats good one less person to worry about and waist my tax money keeping him behind bars... its funny the media always makes the police department out to arrest and kill everyone... but why dont they try walking in a officer's shoes. they will realize this job is something you dont play with... im just glad this incident did not have a sad ending like officer lizaraga.. another officer that did not deserve to die.. may his soul rest in peace