VAN NUYS : Officers Followed Policy in Fatal Chase, Review Finds

After an official review, a Los Angeles police captain said Wednesday that his patrol officers had complied with department policy in a high-speed chase that ended when a fleeing burglary suspect broadsided a car carrying three teen-age boys, killing them.

“The officers did everything they were supposed to do,” said LAPD Capt. Richard Eide, who commands patrol officers at the Van Nuys Division. “They were out doing their job. The suspect caused the accident running from the cops and there was nothing we could do about it.”

Killed in the crash were Manuel Osorio, 18, his younger brother Fernando, 16, both of Arleta, and their friend Rafael Camargo Dawe, 17, of Van Nuys.

Moments earlier, police had launched a pursuit after spotting a man trying to break into a restaurant in Sherman Oaks. When the suspect, identified as Oscar Orlando Argueta, 28, of Los Angeles, saw the officers, he fled in his car, police said.

Police said the patrol officers backed off after being told by a police helicopter pilot that there was traffic ahead. Argueta sped north on Kester Avenue to Sherman Way, where he crashed into the car holding the teen-agers, Eide said.

Argueta was in stable condition Wednesday, police said.

Eide said he reviewed a department report on the pursuit Wednesday morning and attached his conclusion that the officers did not violate LAPD policy. The report will be reviewed by other top LAPD officials, any one of whom may disagree with Eide’s findings.