Officer Remains Hospitalized After Shot by Robbery Suspect

Los Angeles, June 6, 2006 -- A Los Angeles Police Department officer shot by an armed robbery suspect remains hospitalized today in critical but stable condition.

LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti, 33, was wounded about 10:30 p.m. Saturday near Exposition Park.

She and her partner, Officer Joe Mayer, were patrolling in the neighborhood when James Fenton McNeal, 52, ran in front of their patrol car on Leighton Avenue, police said.

The officers followed on foot, and when McNeal got to the front porch of a nearby residence, he turned and shot at them, wounding Ripatti, police said. Mayer then returned fire, fatally wounding McNeal in the chest.

At a news conference the day after the shootout, police Chief William Bratton said the shooting of McNeal was justified. "I will stand here before you and say I am extraordinarily comfortable with the actions of our officers Saturday night," Bratton said. "As they approached, McNeal, based on preliminary information, unprovoked, fired at least five shots."

Ripatti, a 10-year LAPD veteran, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. She is married to another officer, Tim Pierce, and they have a 15- month-old daughter.

Bratton said McNeal was a career criminal who had served multiple prison terms for violent crimes such as armed robbery and murder. Just before encountering the officers, McNeal robbed a gas station, a crime captured on security video, Bratton said.

The chief was expected to offer more comment on the case later today.

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