People v. Poston CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Evidence at Trial Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Brandon Bolen testified that he and his partner, Officer Kumlander, were on patrol near 8th Avenue and Slauson Avenue in the afternoon of January 1, 2019. The officers drove a “dual purpose vehicle” that had front-facing red and blue emergency lights behind the windshield rather than on the roof. The vehicle was black and white with the LAPD logo on both sides. Officer Kumlander was driving and Officer Bolen rode in the passenger seat. The officers noticed a black BMW heading in the opposite direction with a paper license plate, a non-functioning headlight, and tinted front windows. Officer Kumlander made a U-turn to conduct a traffic stop, and the BMW “[took] off at a high rate of

2 speed and roll[ed] [a] stop sign.” By this time, Officer Kumlander had not yet activated his emergency lights and siren. As the pursuit continued, the BMW slowed in traffic and defendant opened the front passenger door and dropped something on the ground. Officer Bolen briefly exited his police vehicle and retrieved the object: a handgun.1 After Officer Bolen picked up the gun, Officer Kumlander activated the…