[CA] A lie behind the lie? Who shot Officer Stenroos?

Officer Stenroos admits he lied -

but is he lying for someone else?

...Detectives, they said, are still trying to determine whether the shooting was an accident or in some way connected to [Los Angeles School Police Officer Jeffrey] Stenroos' professional or personal life... A 9-mm shell casing was found at the scene and investigators were trying to determine how it got there and if Stenroos was shot outside the high school he was working at or in a different location... One source said the bruising on Stenroos' chest - from where a bullet apparently hit his protective vest - appears to be inconsistent with a typical gunshot at close range...

LAPD DETECTIVES SKEPTICAL THAT OFFICER ACCUSED OF SHOOTING HOAX FIRED GUN

Los Angeles Times

By Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton

February 1, 2011, 12:07 p.m.

[Excerpts] LAPD detectives are skeptical of Los Angeles School Police Officer Jeffrey Stenroos' claims that he accidentally shot himself and then blamed the incident on a fake assailant... One source said the bruising on Stenroos' chest - from where a bullet apparently hit his protective vest - appears to be inconsistent with a typical gunshot at close range. Though the officer has said the gun went off outside El Camino Real High School, detectives are not convinced... Stenroos was booked last week on suspicion of making a false police report in connection with the alleged hoax that shut down seven square miles of the west San Fernando Valley. Police spent days searching for a parolee whom they believed shot the officer... The law-enforcement sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was open, said Stenroos had given several contradictory accounts of exactly what happened. Detectives, they said, are still trying to determine whether the shooting was an accident or in some way connected to Stenroos' professional or personal life... "Right now, we have more questions than answers," said a senior LAPD official about the status of the investigation... Repeatedly, they tried to arrange a meeting with Stenroos... Stenroos, according to the sources, seemed to be avoiding them... Source said that on Thursday he confessed his original story was a hoax. They said his chest had bruising similar to what would be caused by a bullet hitting his protective vest, but they're not sure of the circumstances -- including whether any shooting actually occurred next to the school. [Full article here]

OFFICIAL: LA SCHOOL COP SAID SHOOTING WAS ACCIDENT?

Fox News - 6 hours ago

February 01, 2011

[Excerpts] ...Detectives are still trying to unravel exactly what happened during the Jan. 19 incident, when Stenroos claimed he had been shot by a man with a gray ponytail who looked like he was trying to break into cars. A passer-by found Stenroos lying on the ground and called for help. Hundreds of police swarmed the San Fernando Valley neighborhood and set up a dragnet to try to find the suspect. Though Stenroos appeared to have been shot in his bulletproof vest and received bruising in the chest area, investigators are not sure if he was wearing the vest when the shot was fired and are treating his accounts with extreme skepticism. The official said the gun involved in the shooting belonged to Stenroos but was not his service weapon. A 9-mm shell casing was found at the scene and investigators were trying to determine how it got there and if Stenroos was shot outside the high school he was working at or in a different location... [Full article here]