Calif. Teen Killed by Cops Formerly in Explorer Program

April 14--The Winnetka teen who led police on a pursuit before being shot to death on the 101 Freeway had been booted from an LAPD Explorer training program, police said.

Abdul Arian, 19, killed late Wednesday in a hail of gunfire, had been enrolled in the Los Angeles Police Department Explorer Academy when he was ejected for disciplinary reasons in October 2009.

"He was in the LAPD Explorer Academy, but never completed it," said Officer Rosario Herrera, a spokeswoman for the department. "He left for disciplinary reasons."

The department did not disclose the reason Arian was removed from the academy that teaches teens about careers in law enforcement.

The former Taft High School student led officers on a televised

chase from Northridge to Woodland Hills that ended on the Ventura Freeway before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The chase started around 9:50 p.m. when officers tried to pull the teen over near Plummer Street and Shirley Avenue for running a red light.

TV footage showed him jumping out of the car, fleeing on foot, then appearing to point an object at police before officers opened fire.

Police described him as taking an aggressive "shooting stance" before he was shot.

Though Arian had told police dispatchers he had a gun and was willing to use it, no weapon was found at the scene. His family said the only thing he was holding was a cellphone.

And though he had told the 911 operator he'd been "arrested before

for possession of destructive devices," a Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman said he was never charged with any crimes.

Los Angeles police said they could not immediately release Arian's arrest record, if any.

Relatives have said Arian had aspired to be a cop, having purchased a retired LAPD patrol car at auction, but didn't like police because they'd repeatedly pulled him over before he repainted the unit. His parents had emigrated from Afghanistan about 20 years ago.

The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner performed an autopsy on Arian on Friday, but the results won't be available until Monday, Assistant Chief Ed Winter said.