LA officer dies from injuries suffered in training accident

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 32-year-old officer with the Los Angeles Police Department died Sunday of injuries suffered three days earlier in a training accident, officials said.

Houston Tipping, a five-year department veteran, was seriously hurt Thursday at the Elysian Park Academy, according to police Chief Michel Moore.

Tipping was a bike instructor engaged in a training scenario involving grappling with another officer, Moore said. During the scenario, Tipping fell to the floor and suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury, the chief said.

“Despite the valiant efforts of his classmates” and medical staff at LA County-USC Medical Center, Tipping “could not recover,” Moore said on Twitter after the officer died.

Moore called Tipping “a bright and uplifting young man with a full life in front of him.”

The police department is investigating the accident to identify additional measures to prevent such incidents in the future, according to Moore’s statement.

Tipping worked as a patrol officer in the Devonshire division, which covers the area of Northridge, Reseda, Chatsworth and other parts of the north San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.