Five LAPD killings in nine days: teen’s death caps brutal year of police shootings

Valentina Orellana-Peralta's killing was part of a sharp increase in lethal force during a year of police scandals

The killing of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a 14-year-old who died in her mother's arms after police shot her in a department store dressing room, has sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny of the Los Angeles police department.

Yet her death was just one of five killings by LAPD in a nine-day period this month, marking a brutal end to a year that has seen repeated scandals inside one of America's largest police departments.