LAPD Chief Promises Thorough Probe Into Shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is promising a thorough, transparent investigation into an officer's shooting of a knife-wielding man whose death sparked a violent protest in a poor immigrant neighborhood.

At a news conference Tuesday, Beck said witness and officer accounts indicate the officer who killed Guatemalan immigrant Manuel Jamines on Sunday acted "in immediate defense of life." Beck also says Jamines was warned in English and Spanish to drop the knife.

The shooting prompted demonstrations Monday in the Westlake area near MacArthur Park.

On Monday night, some protesters began hurling rocks, bottles and debris at officers and set some trash on fire. The confrontation lasted until about 2 a.m. Tuesday, and police say four people were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor inciting a riot.