Man shot by LAPD outside Venice coffee shop dies

A 41-year-old man shot by Los Angeles police earlier this week outside a Venice coffee shop has died, coroner’s officials said Thursday.

Jason Davis was pronounced dead at a hospital at about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, L.A. County coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said. Officials believe Davis was homeless, Winter said, with relatives living out of the state.

Davis was the 11th person fatally shot by the LAPD so far this year. Eleven other people have been wounded.

The shooting occurred Monday afternoon, after two officers from the LAPD’s Pacific Division responded to a 911 call from the Groundwork Coffee Co. in the 600 block of Rose Avenue, Sgt. Barry Montgomery said. The caller reported a man with a knife inside the shop, Montgomery said.

LAPD officials said in a statement that the caller indicated the man had “brandished a knife at people in the area.” Police later identified the man as Davis.

When the officers arrived, they found Davis sitting at a patio table with the knife, police said. They ordered him to drop the weapon, the LAPD said, but he did not follow their commands.

Davis then stood up and “began to aggressively approach the officers,” the LAPD statement said. One officer used a Taser, but police said it didn’t affect Davis and he continued to move toward them with the knife.

At least one of the officers then opened fire, police said.

A witness who declined to be identified told The Times that police fired twice at a man who appeared to be homeless. Video of the moments immediately following the shooting was recorded by a bystander and posted on social media. The video showed a man lying on the ground, slowly waving his hands above his head before officers turned him over and handcuffed him.

Paramedics responded and took the man to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery, Montgomery said. Neither the officers nor anyone in the coffee shop was injured.

Police said a “large” box cutter was found at the scene.

Investigators have interviewed “numerous witnesses,” Montgomery said, and were looking for surveillance footage from nearby businesses.

In addition to the LAPD’s investigation, the shooting also will be reviewed by the L.A. County district attorney’s office, the Police Commission and its independent inspector general.

Staff writers Matt Hamilton and Veronica Rocha contributed to this report.

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