Frank Lyga
| Frank Lyga | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1957 (age 59–60) - Herkimer County, New York, United States
|
| Police career | |
| Department | Los Angeles Police Department |
| Country | United States |
| Years of service | 1986 - 2014 |
| Rank | Sworn in as an Officer - 1986 - Detective I - 1990 |
Frank Lyga (born c. 1957) was an officer in the Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department known for shooting and killing officer Kevin Gaines. The resulting LAPD investigation of Kevin Gaines helped lead to the Rampart Scandal.
In 1986, Lyga joined the Los Angeles Police Department after serving with the Mohawk Valley sheriff’s force.
Kevin Gaines was shot and killed on March 18, 1997, by Lyga, who was ultimately determined to have been acting in self-defense. At the time of his death, Gaines was 31 and had been a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for seven years. Gaines had ties to Death Row Records, the Bloods, and was living with Suge Knight's ex-wife.
Lyga and other members of his team were staking out a suspected methamphetamine dealer, and Lyga was the point man, which required him to sit in an unmarked 1991 Buick Regal waiting for a drug deal to happen, so that he could follow the suspects back to their source and make the necessary arrests.
The operation was called off, and Lyga drove onto Ventura Boulevard. While he was stopped at a red light, a green sports utility vehicle driven by Gaines pulled up next to him; Gaines threatened Lyga. In response Lyga told Gaines to pull over for a confrontation. Gaines did pull over, but Lyga drove off; Gaines chased him, with the S.U.V. edging through heavy traffic until it neared Lyga's car. A concerned Lyga radioed his partners for help and readied himself to use his own gun. He saw Gaines had a gun and had threatened Lyga again. Lyga fired two shots at Gaines; the first missed, but the second hit the driver just below his right armpit, puncturing his heart before stopping in his lung. Gaines then pulled into a gas station and stopped. Lyga pulled into the gas station and identified himself as a police officer and asked a customer coming out of the station's mini-mart to call the 911 emergency number.
Soon a California Highway Patrol unit arrived, followed by Lyga's captain and the others on his stakeout team. The other officers took control of the scene using standard procedure. When Lyga returned to the station and awaited instructions on the investigation of the shooting he was informed by his commander, Dennis Zuener, that Kevin Gaines was a Los Angeles Police Officer.
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