VIDEO: Vigil Honors Teen Shot and Killed by Long Beach Police

The family of a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot by officers in Long Beach after a traffic stop and foot pursuit last week led a protest march and rally Sunday decrying the killing.

About 75-100 people participated in the march, which began about 11 a.m. and concluded around three hours later at Long Beach Police Department headquarters at 400 Broadway, an aunt of slain suspect Tyler Damon Woods said.

Woods was killed after Long Beach police conducted a traffic stop of a car he and two people were in near Third Street and Walnut Avenue about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Officers said they were interviewing Woods, who lied about his name, when the young man ran.

Officers said they had seen the vehicle's driver commit two violations and also had seen the same vehicle in the area a few hours before, and because of a significant number of burglaries and auto thefts in the area, they decided to investigate why the car was cruising the neighborhood.

While some officers chased the fleeing suspect, others remained behind and interviewed the other occupants, who provided police with Woods' real name.

A records check revealed Woods, a 19-year-old from Rialto, had a felony warrant for robbery. Police also learned that the robbery was an armed carjacking in Los Angeles.

Woods eluded police for over an hour before a resident called from the 1500 block of East Fifth Street to report hearing someone on the roof.

A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter located him on the roof of the building. Woods ran, jumping from roof to roof, and then jumped to the ground and ran into an apartment complex courtyard in the 400 block of Nebraska Avenue.

Woods allegedly tried to break into several homes in the complex, but ended up jumping fences and going to another complex, police said.

A resident in that complex called police to say she had encountered the suspect on her balcony as she was leaving for work.

Officers found Woods on the roof, in a kneeling position, and allege that he began turning toward them. Believing he was armed and about to shoot them, they opened fire, police said.

Paramedics declared Woods dead at the scene.

Woods' aunt Shala Woods, with whom the young man lived since 2002, told City News Service that her nephew was unarmed and that the shooting was unnecessary.

"They have not found a weapon and they are not going to find a weapon," she said.

The protest was organized to demand "justice for Tyler" and to voice support for Woods and others who have been killed in officer- or deputy- involved shootings, Shala Woods said.

"We don't think it's fair that our nephew, brother, father was killed while surrendering," she said, noting that Woods was the father of a 1-year- old son.

She said Tyler had already been frisked before he ran and police had no substantial reason to believe he was armed.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said of the shooting.

While acknowledging her nephew's criminal history, she said she wanted to let the media know that Tyler, who she described as a "big goofball" who enjoyed dancing and telling jokes, was not a monster.

"We just want justice and we want it the right way," she said, noting that no one in her family has called for anything but peaceful protest.

She said she understands that police have a difficult job in protecting the public and must make split-second decisions, but added, "Things like this just shouldn't happen."

She said no decision had been made as to whether the family would file a claim against the police.

Asked about Shala Woods' claim that her nephew was not armed when he was shot and that he had been frisked before he ran, Long Beach police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said the department would not release details that are the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Woods was the 20th person shot by police in Long Beach this year. Six of the shootings have been fatal. There were nine officer-involved shootings last year, according to Long Beach police.

-- City News Service