Bost

On the night of July 4, 1929, a boy named Sierra received certain pistol shot wounds, which resulted in his death the next day. According to some of the evidence these wounds were caused by shots fired by the defendant, who was a police officer of the city of Los Angeles. According to some other evidence it may be that in a quarrel the boy had been shot by one of his companions, before the officers arrived upon the scene.

While the assignment of errors set forth in the brief for appellant contains a general specification that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the conviction, we do not understand counsel to contend that the record is wholly without evidence tending to establish the fact that deceased was shot by the defendant. If this was the fact, and if the circumstances were not such as to justify the killing, then it could not successfully be maintained that the evidence is wholly insufficient to sustain the verdict. We are of the opinion that, although it may be true that the deceased was seeking to escape pursuit at the time when the defendant was following him, and when, according to some of the testimony, the shooting actually occurred, such flight would not have…