Matasareanu tried to hijack a pickup, but he was unable to get it started and then began a 6-minute gunbattle with police, until he collapsed from his injuries. Archived video from Feb. 28, 1997. [4], At 9:52a.m., Phillips turned east on Archwood Street and took cover behind a parked semi-truck where he continued to fire at the police (Lt. Michael Ranshaw, Officers Conrado Torrez, John Caprarelli, and Ed Brentlinger) until his rifle jammed. After the incident, the LAPD realized that their 9mm handguns were not going to suffice if there was a similar circumstance in the future, so they received 600 M-16 military rifles from the Pentagon. [16] Mtsreanu wore only a Type IIIA bulletproof vest, but included a metal ballistic plate to protect vital organs. His family later sued two police officers and the city, claiming the officers were indifferent to Matasareanus wounds at the scene and let him die. The incident changed how policing is conducted, with officers now equipped with higher-caliber weapons. 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out, "How the North Hollywood Shootout Changed Patrol Arsenals", "44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout", https://adevarul.ro/stiri-locale/suceava/banditul-roman-care-a-schimbat-legile-din-statele-1832146.html, "Shootout in L.A. 2 'armed-for-war' robbers killed; 16 hurt in failed heist", "Bernard C. Parks to Honorable Board of Police Commissioners, June 12, 1998", "20 years ago, a dramatic North Hollywood shootout changed the course of the LAPD and policing at large", "Botched L.A. bank heist turns into bloody shootout", "Once Banned, Now Loved and Loathed: How the AR-15 Became 'America's Rifle', "Miami police given option to patrol with assault rifles", "North Hollywood Bank Shootout_February 28, 1997", "Bernard C. Parks to Honorable Board of Police Commissioners", "Bank Robber Bled to Death, Autopsy Shows", "20 years ago, gunbattle terrorized North Hollywood and shocked America", "Dying Bank Robber's Last Words To Police:: 'Shoot Me In The Head', "Police Kill 2 Bank Robbery Suspects in a Wild Gun Battle", "North Hollywood Shootout Safehouse Arsenal", "Interdepartmental Correspondence, OIS #18-97", Offbeat L.A.: Police on my Back- The LAPD Museum, "LAPD museum showcases department's good, bad, ugly", "Lawsuit accuses L.A. police of letting wounded gunman die", "Mistrial Declared in Case Stemming From Shootout", "Stunned police, residents cope with aftermath of L.A. shootout", "Family of robber killed in L.A. shootout sues", "2007 National Geographic Channel episode of Situation Critical North Hollywood Shootout", Casefile True Crime Podcast Case 18: The North Hollywood Shootout. The police radioed for an ambulance, but Mtsreanu, loudly swearing profusely and still goading the police to shoot him, died before the ambulance and EMTs were allowed to reach the scene almost 70 minutes later. in North Hollywood. The cash was never found. According to a National Geographic docuseries,Situation Critical, Mtsreanu was so upset about this development that he fired nearly 100 rounds into the vault, destroying whatever money remained. It began with an attempted robbery at the Bank of America branch in North Hollywood. He had brain surgery months before his death and was estranged from a wife and two kids. "Shoot-Out in North Hollywood: Command and Communications" by Nancy J. Rigg (focusing on dispatch and command post coordination), 27 minutes of helicopter footage of the shootout from the LA News Archive, Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums, Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library, Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=North_Hollywood_shootout&oldid=1141508680, Law enforcement operations in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018, Articles with dead external links from October 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Sergeant Larry "Dean" Haynes was hit in the left shoulder, Officer Martin Whitfield was shot and seriously wounded four times in the left arm, right femur and chest, Officer Conrado Torrez was grazed in the right side of the neck, Officer James Zboravan was shot twice and seriously wounded in the lower back, hip and thigh, Detective William "John" Krulac was hit in the right ankle, Detective Tracey Angeles was grazed in the stomach and buttock, Officer Stuart Guy was hit twice in the right femur and right forearm, Detective Earl Valladares was hit in the head by flying debris, Officer Ed Brentlinger was hit by gunfire and by concrete fragments on his face and left forearm, Officer William Lantz was hit in the right knee, Officer John Goodman was hit by flying glass and shrapnel, Officer David Grimes was injured in a traffic accident, John Villigrana was struck across the head by the stock of an assault rifle, Barry Golding was hit by flying glass and shrapnel, Michael Horen was hit in the left side of the chest, Jose Haro was hit by flying glass and shrapnel, William Marr was hit by glass and shrapnel fragments in the right arm, left temple and nose. For the Blues Traveler album, see, Larry Phillips Jr. (left) and Emil Mtsreanu (right) in 1993 after being arrested in Glendale for driving a stolen vehicle. After Mtsreanu backed the Chevrolet Celebrity out of the handicapped space in the north parking lot, Phillips received a gunshot wound to his left wrist, based upon helicopter news footage that showed him react to pain. It's well done, with solid acting from old pros Madsen and Van Peebles and very tight directing. One of the most violent days in LAPD history unfolded on live television on Feb. 28, 1997 when two bank robbers wearing body armor and wielding assault rifles engaged in a ferocious gunfight with officers on the streets of North Hollywood. The gun battle lasted 44 minutes. LOS ANGELES LAPD Officer James Zboravan was two months and eight days out of the police academy when he faced a barrage of machine-gun fire, shot and wounded a bank robber and dove across unarmored officers to shield them with his bulletproof vest. After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes. 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out TV Movie 2003 R 1 h 43 m IMDb RATING 6.3 /10 5.3K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 0:31 1 Video 11 Photos Action Crime Drama After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes. . Does any unit know how many officers are down? asked a police radio dispatcher. On the morning of February 28, 1997, after months of preparation that included extensive reconnoitering of their intended targetthe Bank of America branch located at 6600 Laurel Canyon BoulevardPhillips and Mtsreanu armed themselves with a semi-automatic HK-91 and several illegally converted weapons: two Norinco Type 56 S rifles, a fully automatic Norinco Type56 S-1, and a fully automatic Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator. You may have read about bank robberies in the past, butfew crimes compare to this one. Commonly known as the North Hollywood Bank of America Shootout, the incident quickly appeared on news channels throughout the nation as the drama unfolded," the Los Angeles Police Department said in 2010. All rights reserved. "We teach our officers to respond as a team. Immediately escalating into a flurry of gunfire and panic, the LAPD began surrounding the bank, waiting for the perps to emerge. The lesson is, very plainly: Just because youre shot doesnt mean youre going to die. Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Decebal Stefan Emilian "Emil" Mtsreanu, a.k.a. As the two made their way into the bank they were spotted by two patrolling officers. If you look at the civilians who were injured, the policemen who were injured, the cars that were destroyed, it was amazing that nobody died., Request product info from top Police Body Armor companies. We put our lives on the line. For those who don't know, this actually changed how Police armed themselves. Raw footage from the North Hollywood Bank Shootout. Phillips briefly retreated inside, then reemerged through the north doorway, while Mtsreanu exited through the south exit. [citation needed], Mtsreanu's vehicle was rendered inoperable after two of its tires were shot out and the windshield covered in bullet holes. His gun jammed when he was pinned down behind a car. After firing a few more shots with one arm, Phillips discarded the HK-91 and retrieved the Norinco Type 56 before exiting the parking lot and retreating onto the street while Mtsreanu drove down the road. Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! "[22] Additionally, the officers were pinned down by the heavy sprays of gunfire coming from the robbers, making it extremely difficult to attempt a head shot with their handguns. On February 28, 1997, two bank robbers engaged in a shootout with dozens of Los Angeles police officers in what became known as the North Hollywood Bank of America Shootout. SWAT teams, whose close quarters battle weaponry usually consisted of submachine guns that fired pistol cartridges such as the Heckler & Koch MP5, began supplementing them with AR-15 rifles and carbines. "We now have active shooter training, mass violence training," Moore said. Eleven officers and seven bystanders were injured . With no cooperation from them, he heads over with bolt cutters, and cuts through the electrical conduit supplying the house. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. We did a great job, said David Fryar, director of the nonprofit museum. NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In 1997, two bank robbers armed with an arsenal of weapons started one of the most prolific gun battles in L.A.'s history. LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A blaze of automatic gunfire ripped through a crowded neighborhood after several heavily-armed gunmen dressed like commandos botched a bank robbery. [3] Combined, the two men had fired approximately 1,100 rounds in total, while approximately 650 rounds were fired by police. After everything was over, I saw the bullet holes in my kiosk, and my arms started to swell, Haro, now retired and in ill health, told the Daily News a decade ago. The locations used in the movie were the actual locations where the shootout took place, and this added immeasurably to the realism of the story. All rights reserved, North Hollywood Shootout: Dramatic Images of the Bloody Gun Battle, North Hollywood Shootout: Officer Recalls Surviving Armor-Piercing Bullet Wounds. Inside the Bank of America, the two gunmen shot out the tellers windows and forced their way into the vault. Their plan was beginning to fall apart, and the adrenaline partnered with the intense stress led the two men to unravel. An infuriated Phillips loosed a full 75-round drum of 7.62x39mm into the bank vault, destroying much of the remaining cash. "Feb. 28, 1997, is a date that will forever be etched in the annals of LAPD history as one of the most violent encounters Department officers ever endured. The film stars Michael Madsen, Ron Livingston, and Mario Van Peebles, and is based on the 1997 North Hollywood shootout. He says the shootout had a major impact on police work in the city and across the country. Armed with automatic weapons and body armor, two masked men robbed a North Hollywood bank Friday and then were killed trying to blast their way to freedom, spraying bullets into houses and. CNN. [4][18] The Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the Coroner's Office later also found ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine in Phillips' blood, and phenytoin in Mtsreanu's blood. 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