Simone WilsonUpdate, April 13: “Reggie Doucet's Family Files 'Wrongful Death' Lawsuit Against City of Los Angeles.”
Update: A revised LAPD report says Doucet tried to take the black officer's gun during the fight — for that, he was immediately killed.
Updated after the jump: LAPD officers are out of the hospital — they were both punched in the head by Doucet. The officer who shot him was a black male who had only been on the force for 17 months. Doucet had no weapon.
Reginald Doucet, Jr, a 25-year-old Playa Vista resident, posted this video to his Twitter account on his way out in Hollywood last night — just hours before he was shot and killed by an LAPD officer.
“I live for this,” he says in the video. “I could be dead right now, and I'm still doing what I'm doing.”
Doucet was apparently on his way to Drai's Hollywood, the rooftop nightclub at the W Hotel. When he returned home to Playa Vista later that night, he engaged in an argument with his cab driver. That's when a nearby resident both the driver and nearby residents called the police.
From the original LA Weekly report:
LAPD officers screeched up to the scene a little past 3 a.m. (just after the bars let out), responding to a “disturbing the peace” call outside what news reports are calling an “upscale beach condominium” on the 5600 block of Crescent Park West in Playa Vista — a small, affluent community just below Venice Beach and Marina Del Rey. According to KTLA, the now-dead man was fighting with a taxi driver who had driven him there. He then stripped down to boxers when police arrived and tried to detain him.
The man, who apparently took a taxi to the location, began stripping off his clothing and running around naked.A witness said she heard screaming and commotion outside her window as police chased after the naked suspect. At some point, the suspect put on boxers.
Playa Vista resident Monica Vogelbacher told a news crew: “I heard them try to detain him and he would not comply and there was a fight, a physical fight, and then I heard two shots.”
There is no evidence, so far, that the man was carrying a gun. However, two officers from the LAPD's Pacific Division are currently in the hospital with injuries from their struggle with the unidentified victim.
The suspect was pronounced dead immediately after arriving to a nearby hospital.
Some more details from the Los Angeles Times:
Two officers responded to a disturbance in the 5200 block of Crescent Park about 3:30 a.m. and were confronted by the man, who was not wearing any clothes and was yelling at officers, said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith.
The officers calmed the man down and talked him into putting on his boxers, but he ran away when they attempted to apprehend him. A scuffle ensued and one of the officers shot the man twice, Smith said.
Reggie Doucet in 2006; Credit: MTSU
Doucet was a big college football star at Middle Tennessee State University. His 2006 resume with the Blue Raiders reads:
Started five games and played in all 13 while registering a career-best 40 tackles, three interceptions, two tackles for loss, and a team-best eight pass breakups … Was second on the winning White team with four tackles in the Blue-White Spring Game … Also tallied an interception … Made his first collegiate start in win over FIU and responded with four tackles and two pass breakups …
And the list goes on. When Doucet moved back to California — where he was born, in the Salinas/Prunedale area of the Monterey Bay — he embraced the L.A. lifestyle, becoming a model, personal trainer and Hollywood club promoter.
Doucet was recently featured as “Eye Candy” on the women's lifestyle site Essence.com. He shared these details with writers at the photo shoot:
25-Year-old Reggie Doucet at a recent photo shoot; Credit: Essence
Reggie grew up in Monterey County in Northern Cali. But he was drawn to the perpetual bright sky and club life down South. So he headed to L.A. to play college football for a stint before heading east to play for Middle Tennessee State.After spending some time in Tennessee, Florida and D.C. Reggie was ready to get back to the glamorous life of Los Angeles. He packed his bags and headed west a few weeks ago. Magically tickets to LAX are on the rise.
“I enjoy the club life,” Reggie says of what's fun about Los Angeles. You can find him posted up near the bar at Guys & Dolls in West Hollywood.
Partying it up isn't all that's on Reggie's mind now that he's back in LA. He's prepping to build a training facility for athletes, to show them how they can be as sexy as he is.
This afternoon at 4 p.m., the coroner's office told us Doucet is still in the hospital, so an autopsy has yet to be performed. However, KTLA reports that the victim's neighbor at the Playa Vista condos, Chris Ellison, “said the former quarterback for Middle Tennessee State University was never violent in the seven years they were neighbors.”
Some updates from local bloggers:
Concrete Loop says Doucet got in a fight with the cabbie after refusing to pay his cab fare. “The driver said Doucet did not want to pay his fare, then took his clothes off and started jumping on parked cars.”
According to his bio on Performance Five, a fitness company that apparently employed Doucet, the 25-year-old was a “Speed, Strength & Conditioning Coach.” He originally played college football at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, then at El Camino Junior College in Torrance. He graduated from MTSU with a Bachelor's in physical fitness.
In this video from Jan. 10, Doucet says he's staying at the W Hotel. He also says his little brother is coming to town. “I feel like tonight is the most wildest night of my life since my baby was brought into this world,” he says. “I haven't slept in 10 days.”
The official LAPD report, fresh off the press:
On January 14, 2011, at around 3:30 a.m., LAPD officers working patrol in the Pacific Area initially responded to a “Business Dispute” radio call in the 5200 block of Crescent Park West. As the officers were responding to the call, additional citizens called to report a “415 man causing a disturbance.” Upon arrival the officers were directed and located the naked suspect, a male Black, 25- years old, behaving erratically. The officers attempted to speak and detain the suspect, however the suspect ran away and the officers followed the suspect on foot. The suspect ran to another location where he found his shorts and put them on. The officers tried again to talk and detain the suspect, who again ran to another apartment complex a very short distance away.
When the officers attempted to detain the suspect in the apartment complex doorway, the suspect immediately attacked the officers. During the fight the suspect aggressively punched both officers in the face and head. [Update: The police report was revised a few hours later to include: LAPD's Force Investigation Division will be conducting a thorough investigation. Preliminary information indicates that the officer's were fighting for their lives. During the fight the suspect repeatedly punched both officers in the face and head and at one point tried to take one of the officer's guns.] One officer, a male Black, 17 months with LAPD, shot the suspect to stop the attack. The second officer, a male Asian, 5 years with LAPD, was also physically battered and dazed during the incident. The Officers took the suspect into custody and immediately called for medical assistance.
Personnel from the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded and immediately transported the wounded suspect to a local hospital where he died as the result of his injuries.
The injured officers were also transported to a local hospital. One officer was treated for injuries to his ankle and face. He was immediately released. The second officer was hospitalized temporarily and treated for injuries to his jaw and head.
LAPD Force Investigation Division personnel are investigating the officer involved shooting. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call Force Investigation Division Detective John Roeda at (213) 486-5230.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.