A 78-year-old man is suing the Long Beach Police Department alleging that police shot him in the abdomen as he was evacuating a retirement home where a firefighter was fatally shot following an explosion in June. Police, however, say there is clear evidence that no officers fired during the incident.
Long Beach Fire Capt. David Rosa was shot and killed by Covenant Manor resident Thomas Kim, 77, on the morning of June 25 after Kim set off an explosion in his apartment.
In their federal lawsuit filed Dec. 6, Covenant Manor residents Vladimir Tsipursky and his wife, Inna, said they were evacuating the building around 4 a.m. due to a fire from the explosion when police responded to the scene and shot Tsipursky in the abdomen.
Police arrested Tsipursky and transported him to St. Mary Medical Center, the lawsuit says. At one point, officers punched Tsipursky in the face while he was at the hospital, it alleges.