Retired judge fires on LA cops he called to home

A retired Los Angeles County judge called police late Wednesday night, saying there were people with guns in his home, police said. But when LAPD officers showed up, he fired at them and began a standoff that led to his arrest, police said.

The judge's shots didn't hit anyone, but they came dangerously close, said Los Angeles police Officer Liliana Preciado.

"Thankfully he was a bad shot," she said.

James Bascue, 75, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

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The incident began about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, when the former judge called police reporting armed people inside a home in the 1900 block of South Barrington Avenue in West Los Angeles.

Dispatchers were unable to get more information because his TV was blaring and he refused to turn it down, Preciado said.

They took the call seriously, though, and police were dispatched immediately to Bascue's residence in a townhome complex.

Officers peered into a window and saw Bascue sitting in a chair in the living room with two guns in his lap, Preciado said. He then loaded the guns' magazines and pointed one gun at his head, police said. The officers pleaded with him to drop the weapons.

When he fired a shot inside his home and another in the direction of the officers outside a window, a SWAT team was called in.

Read more at http://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/8568608-Retired-judge-fi...