Autopsy finds actor was shot in back by LA officer

Police Chief Bernard Parks strongly disagreed during a Tuesday news conference.

Parks said the report shows that Lee was moving as Hopper hit him with four of nine bullets the officer fired rapidly through a glass door.

"I don't think it's common sense to think someone would just stand there fixed on a target if nine shots are coming through glass in their direction," Parks said. He added that it will be impossible to determine whether Lee was hit with the first bullets fired, the last or those in between.

Parks said a police investigation into the shooting is still several months from completion, but investigators knew early on that Lee had been shot in the back.

Asked whether that early finding had concerned LAPD officials, Parks responded: "If someone was pointing a gun at you and you shot him, would you have been concerned where you shot him?"

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office also is investigating the shooting. The coroner's report concluded that Lee was struck from behind by four bullets. Two in the back caused his death as they tore through vital organs.

The report also said that cocaine and alcohol were found in Lee's system.

Lee, 39, had appeared on TV shows such as "ER" and "NYPD Blue," and had a small role in the 1997 Jim Carrey movie "Liar Liar." He had turned from gangs years ago and become a committed Buddhist.

Lee was killed shortly after midnight Oct. 28 at a Hollywood Hills mansion where Hopper and Officer Natalie Humphrey had arrived in response to a noise complaint.

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