Man armed with polesaw shot by LAPD officers in Boyle Heights fatal encounter

A September 7 incident in Boyle Heights saw LAPD officers from the Hollenbeck Division answer a disturbance call involving a man described as having mental illness and carrying a metal pipe. After a relative pointed officers toward the suspect, Zimran Canas stepped out of his front gate brandishing an 8-foot polesaw equipped with a foot-long serrated blade. Officers Juan Laguna and Brandon Barnett repeatedly ordered him to drop the tool, but Canas continued advancing.

The officers then discharged their firearms, striking Canas, who collapsed and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Paramedics provided initial aid, and the recovered weapons included the polesaw and a metal pipe. No injuries were reported among the officers or any bystanders, and the LAPD announced an ongoing investigation into the shooting.