Officer Whose Bullet Killed a 14-Year-Old Girl Wanted to ‘Change’ the Police
The New York Times
As an L.A.P.D. officer, William Jones Jr. said he wanted the public “not to be scared of us.” He is now under investigation for a shooting that killed Valentina Orellana Peralta and an unarmed assault suspect.
LOS ANGELES — When he first moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago, William Dorsey Jones Jr. was like many others before him, hoping to find a career in the entertainment industry. He went so far as to start his own company, Entourage Entertainment Group.
But when those dreams didn’t pan out, Mr. Jones became a community relations specialist and patrol officer in the North Hollywood area — and he loved it. On social media, he seemed to have a sense of obligation, as a Black police officer, to confront head-on the issues of racism and policing.
He ran a nonprofit that mentored at-risk youth and helped coach a high school football team. Earlier this month, he drove a car filled with presents to hand out to children.
