(L.A.) Ricardo Lizarraga, 31, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2004-01498

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 31-year-old Hispanic male that occurred in a hospital.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Ricardo Lizarraga.

Manner of Death: Homicide

Cause of Death: Multiple Gunshot Wounds

RIP RICARDO LIZARRAGA (January 24, 1973 – February 20, 2004)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Friday at 2:50 p.m.

Shooting incident location: 1700 block of West 48th Street in Vermont Square

The decedent was an LAPD officer who was also a member of the Centurion football team composed of other officers. He was shot dead on duty while investigating a domestic disturbance in the Leimert Park area.

According to a lawsuit filed in 2023, Centurion Chairman Donald Payne ordered the killing of the man charged with murder in Lizarraca’s death. That suspect, Kendrick Johnson, was pronounced dead after he was found hanged in a Los Angeles jail cell. Allegedly, the jail cell death was arranged as retribution for the shooting of Lizarraga.