Family, friends demand justice for Lionel Gibson, shot by Long Beach police while holding airsoft rifle

Family and friends of a 21-year-old man killed in a Long Beach police shooting earlier this month, after he was seen with what was later determined to be an airsoft gun, are calling for justice and answers.

Lionel Gibson was on his way to visit his girlfriend at the time of the May 7 shooting, his family said. Police were dispatched to the area of 21st Street and Locust Avenue at 4:46 p.m. after a caller reported seeing a person holding an “Uzi-style gun” speaking to three subjects in a vehicle. The shooting happened after officers gave several commands to put hands up, but “the suspect did not comply and reached his hand toward the butt of the gun in his waistband,” police said.

Gibson’s family and friends, however, say officers’ actions were unacceptable. They wondered why less lethal options were not used, how many officers were called to the scene and how many fired their weapons.

A call for justice

Friends and family gathered for a candlelight vigil and protest Wednesday evening at an alleyway off 21st Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Locust Avenue where Gibson died.

“He was no demon,” said Alice Corley, his mother, who drove to Long Beach from Atlanta, Georgia where she currently lives. “My son never hurt anyone and if he did, he begged their pardon. My son was doing nothing wrong that day. ... My son was loving and he was caring and he never deserved to be taken away from us three days before his birthday.”

Gibson was living with his grandmother, Marilyn Carter, a few blocks from the scene at the time of his death, family said.

Corley retained Peter L. Carr and Jason O. Sias, of the Beverly Hills based law firm Sias|Carr, and are reviewing their legal options.

“In this instance, it seems as if he wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Carr said. “There’s no question as to whether or not he was engaged in any illegal activity [...] We’ve been asking questions from the police department and they haven’t given us any answers. We’re here for a call for justice, but also just a call for answers. What happened? Why did this happen? What needs to change so that this doesn’t happen anymore?”

Investigation

Gibson’s family contends that police had no cause to shoot, but preliminary information provided by police indicates that his airsoft gun was realistic and lacked an obvious indication that it was a replica firearm.

A full Los Angeles County Coroner’s report was not complete as of Thursday, but preliminary information from the coroner’s office shows that he was killed from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

All officer-involved shootings undergo an inteal investigation as well as an independent investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attoey’s Office.

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A detailed description of the Long Beach Police Department’s officer-involved shooting investigative procedure is available on the department’s website.

Chief Robert Luna has been given what’s known as a “critical incident briefing,” said Marlene Arrona, a police spokeswoman, in an email. The investigation is ongoing and detectives are continuing to seek witnesses, video and other evidence before presenting the case to the District Attoey’s office.

“We train officers to use deadly force if a subject poses an immediate threat with what officers believe to be a deadly weapon,” Arrona said.

Police also arrested two of the three men Gibson was reportedly talking to before the shooting, Arrona said. German Gallardo Rios, 21, of Long Beach, was booked for being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and is being held in Los Angeles County Jail. Erick M. Corrales, 23, of Long Beach, was booked for an outstanding warrant involving a vehicle code violation, she said.

The third individual present at the scene was not arrested.

Remembering a life

Gibson lived in the South Wrigley neighborhood since childhood, around the time he enrolled at Buett Elementary School, Corley said. He was giving and would give someone the shirt off his own back.

“He just wanted to love on people,” she said.

Several family members said he was not involved in gang life. His cousin, Kam Beaudoin, said the two of them spoke recently about future plans and Gibson was getting ready to find work.

Though he could be a knucklehead at times, everyone loved him and he always listened to his elders, Carter said.

“He was going to cook dier for me,” she said of the night of the shooting. “We were going to have tacos. He had just cleaned my kitchen [...] He was my heart.”