The Dionne M Leslie-Pullen video doesn’t lie: A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy doesn’t even flinch when it comes to providing aid to Raejonette Morgan, an African-American girl who was riddled with more than 15 shots.
“It’s a woman. She’s still breathing. She’s still breathing. Can we help her? She’s still breathing,” Dionne desperately shouts to the officer, who doesn’t even try to approach the white Mercedes Benz where the former nurse is lying in the seat of her car.
“Please help this girl. Why don’t you break the window?” she suggested desperately, in the face of the sheriff’s inaction. “What is he waiting for? Oh, she’s moving, she’s moving! Oh my God! This girl just got shot! Please send a message. She needs help. This officer is not helping,” the woman adds in the video.
Dionne cried out to heaven, “Oh my God! Oh my Lord! Please God, help her!”
He begged the officer to break the window. The officer appeared to be frightened. He chewed gum and talked on his cell phone.
But, when Dionne took off her shoes and smashed the passenger side window, it was only then that the sheriff approached the car window.
He immediately chased away from the crime scene the people who wanted to help the dying young girl, among them a young African-American man and an old man.
In the video recorded in daylight at approximately 7:30 p.m. on July 2 by Dionne herself, at least 15 bullet holes can be seen in the driver’s side door and window.
“Where’s the ambulance?” Dionne shouted desperately, and without thinking twice, she became the main witness to the attitude of the LASD agent, who remained unfazed in front of the person who was dying inside the car.
When numerous sheriff’s patrol cars arrived, they cordoned off the area and removed the body from the white car driven by Raejonette Morgan.
The video lasts 10 minutes and 37 seconds. The activist leaves the crime scene and the ambulance arrives only later. Raejonette Morgan later died at UCLA Harbor General Hospital.
“She was my only baby”
Filled with grief and sadness, Anginette Morgan, mother of the girl killed at the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Imperial Highway in South Los Angeles, said at a press conference that Raejonette “was my only baby.”
“I’m going to demand justice…that she gets justice for what happened to her,” Ms. Morgan said. “The officers that were involved need to step aside and we need some investigation.”
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting and no description of the suspect or suspects has been released. There are also no reports of any video from businesses around the crime scene.
“Our brothers and sisters broke the law,” said Shep Crawford, pastor of The Experience Christian Ministries ECM, indicating that the perpetrators of the murder were African-American.
“He also broke law one [el agente del alguacil] “The guy who gets paid, and who was more concerned about himself and his safety,” she said. “His attitude wasn’t about a woman inside the car. It was about him not doing anything. That’s why we’re upset and hurt.”
According to her family, Raejonette Morgan was the victim of a shooting by suspected gang members due to mistaken identity. The family is now calling for justice and urging those responsible for her murder to come forward to the police.
However, the sheriff’s deputy’s inaction evoked painful memories of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a sheriff’s deputy also failed to intervene when 19 children tragically lost their lives.
Attorney Ben Crump, known for his influential advocacy in civil rights cases, has pledged his support to the Morgan family.
“I offer my prayers to you and your family for the loss of your daughter. As I told Najee Ali, my law firm will join you in demanding a full investigation,” Crump said.
Activist Najee Alii, director of the Islamic Hope project, told La Opinión that it is “likely” that in the near future an analysis will be made of whether there was criminal negligence in the attitude of the sheriff who did not help the victim.
“We believe in Sheriff Robert Luna and his integrity to conduct a thorough investigation,” he said. “What his deputy did, which was captured on cellphone video by a good Samaritan, was shocking, reprehensible and inexcusable.”
What is the aid protocol?
Ali continued the protocols followed by the Sheriff’s Department when treating shooting victims who are still alive.
“We want to hear directly from Sheriff Robert Luna what the protocol is for shooting victims who are still alive. We want this deputy’s name to be made public and we want to see if he has a history of complaints about not helping African-American crime victims,” Ali said.
The incident, which has resonated nationally, has also sparked a broader discourse about racial disparities in law enforcement response to emergencies.
“I honestly believe that if a young white woman had been hit by a hail of bullets, this officer would have sprung into action and not allowed her to bleed out in the car. He would have broken the car window himself to render aid and CPR, and not waited for a good Samaritan to do his job for him,” he added.
“Concern” over the officer’s response
Nicole Nishida, communications manager for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said in a statement sent to La Opinión that “The Department is conducting a critical incident review of the entire incident that will include the officer’s response, equipment, training and tactics to determine if Department policies and procedures were followed.”
“We are deeply concerned by this incident and detectives are working diligently to solve this heinous murder and bring justice to the family,” the statement said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Raejonette Morgan during this tragic time. The Department is unwavering in our commitment to saving lives and protecting members of our community in any emergency situation.”
It also reports that on July 2, 2024, at approximately 7:30 p.m., a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Parks Bureau was alerted to a vehicle that had been shot at near the Vermont Avenue exit of the 105 Freeway in Los Angeles. I
“It was initially unclear whether the vehicle belonged to the suspect or the victim. From the patrol car, the officer requested assistance from the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station and the Los Angeles County Fire Department,” he said.
“Additional officers soon arrived and assessed the victim’s condition, removing her from the vehicle to allow medical personnel to render aid. The victim, Raejonette Morgan, 22, was transported to Harbor UCLA Medical Center and succumbed to her injuries on July 4, 2024. We are grateful to the concerned community members who stopped by the scene to render aid.”
He added that homicide investigators have taken over the case and are working with detectives from the Operation Safe Streets Office to solve the incident, which they believe may be gang-related.
“Investigators are currently processing evidence recovered from the scene and conducting interviews,” he said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you can call Crime Stoppers at 800 222 tips (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the P3 Tips mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store, or use the website.