The North Hollywood shootout, also known as the Battle of North Hollywood, was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and police officers in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles on February 28, 1997. Both robbers died during the shooting, twelve police officers and eight civilians were injured, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed by the nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and police.
At 9:16 a.m., Phillips and Mătăsăreanu entered and robbed Bank of America's North Hollywood branch. The robbers were confronted by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers when they exited the bank and a shootout between the officers and robbers ensued. The robbers attempted to flee the scene, Phillips on foot and Mătăsăreanu in their getaway vehicle, while continuing to exchange fire with the officers. The shootout continued onto a residential street adjacent to the bank until Phillips, mortally wounded, killed himself; Mătăsăreanu was incapacitated by officers three blocks away and bled to death before the arrival of paramedics more than an hour later.
Phillips and Mătăsăreanu had robbed at least two other banks previously, using similar methods involving using their automatic rifles to get past security doors, taking control of the entire bank, and firing weapons illegally obtained and modified for fully automatic fire. They were also suspects in two armored car robberies.
Standard-issue sidearms carried by most local patrol officers at the time were 9mm pistols or .38 Special revolvers; some patrol cars were also equipped with a 12-gauge shotgun. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu carried three Norinco Type 56 rifles and a Bushmaster XM-15 Dissipator with a 100-round drum magazine, all of which had been illegally modified to be select-fire capable, as well as a Heckler & Koch HK91 rifle and a Beretta 92FS pistol. The robbers wore homemade body armor which successfully protected them from handgun rounds and shotgun pellets fired by the responding officers. An LAPD Metropolitan Division SWAT team eventually arrived with higher-powered weapons, but they had little effect on the heavy body armor used by the two perpetrators. The SWAT team also commandeered an armored car to evacuate the wounded. Several officers additionally equipped themselves with rifles from a nearby firearms dealer. The LAPD did not directly pay or reimburse the gun shop owner for the used and dirty weapons returned after the shootout. Instead, the shop recouped its costs and profited by legally selling the used firearms as historical memorabilia. The incident sparked debate on the need for patrol officers to upgrade their firepower to semi-auto rifles in preparation for similar situations in the future.
Due to the large number of injuries and rounds fired, equipment used by the robbers, and overall length of the shootout, it is regarded as one of the most intense and significant gun battles in U.S. police history. Combined, the two robbers had fired approximately 1,100 rounds in total, while approximately 650 rounds were fired by police. Another estimate is that a total of nearly 2,000 rounds were fired collectively.
Backgrounds
Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. (September 20, 1970 — February 28, 1997) and Decebal Ștefan Emilian "Emil" Mătăsăreanu (July 19, 1966 — February 28, 1997) first met at a Gold's Gym in Venice, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in 1989. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu had mutual interests in weightlifting, bodybuilding, and firearms. Both were large men; Larry Phillips Jr. stood 6 feet (1.83 m) and weighed 230 pounds (104 kg), and Emil Mătăsăreanu stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighed 270 pounds (122 kg).
Before meeting, Phillips was a habitual offender, responsible for multiple real estate scams and counts of shoplifting. His first arrest was in 1989 when he shoplifted $400 worth of merchandise, including two suits, at a Sears in Alhambra. He was living with his wife in Anaheim Hills at the time of his death.
Mătăsăreanu was born in Timișoara, Romania, to parents who relocated to Altadena, California, in 1974. He attended Pasadena High School. Growing up, it has been said he was bullied over his accent and weight. In an interview with his mother after his death, she said "bullying by schoolmates caused him to turn to computers as a refuge." She called her son "a sharpshooter and computer whiz" that "programmed arcade and video games." In August 1996 Mătăsăreanu "split up with his wife after having a seizure." The marriage produced two sons, who later filed a lawsuit for wrongful death. He earned a degree at DeVry University's Pomona campus and was a qualified electronics engineering technologist, running a relatively unsuccessful computer repair business, Dechebal Inc. He became an American citizen in 1988.
On July 20, 1993, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu robbed an armored car outside a branch of FirstBank in Littleton, Colorado.
Three months later, on October 23, they were initially pulled over by Glendale police when Mătăsăreanu was speeding in a red 1993 Pontiac Firebird. After the traffic stop, Mătăsăreanu lied to the police officer about who owned the vehicle. The subsequent search of their vehicle—after Phillips surrendered with a concealed weapon—found two semi-automatic rifles (a Norinco MAK90 rifle and a Polytech AKS underfolding rifle), two handguns (one Springfield Armory .45 pistol and one Colt .45 pistol), more than 1,600 rounds of 7.62×39mm rifle ammunition, 1,200 rounds of hollow point 9×19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP handgun hollow point ammunition, radio scanners, six smoke bombs, improvised explosive devices, body armor vests, wigs, a stopwatch, a gas mask, and three different California license plates. Initially charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, due to plea bargaining, it was downgraded to a misdemeanor. Both served 100 days in jail and were placed on three years of probation. After their release, most of their seized property was returned to them, except for the confiscated firearms and explosives.
On June 14, 1995, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu ambushed a Brink's armored car in Winnetka, Los Angeles, killing one guard, Herman Cook, and seriously wounding another. In May 1996, they robbed two branches of Bank of America in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, stealing approximately US$1.5 million. The pair were dubbed the "High Incident Bandits" by investigators due to the weaponry they had used in three robberies prior to their attempt in North Hollywood.
Robbery
Preparation
On the morning of February 28, 1997, after months of preparation that included extensive reconnoitering of their intended target—the Bank of America branch located at 6600 Laurel Canyon Boulevard—Phillips and Mătăsăreanu armed themselves with a Beretta 92FS pistol and five rifles, a semi-automatic HK-91 and several illegally converted weapons equipped with drum magazines: two Norinco Type 56 S rifles, a fully automatic Norinco Type 56 S-1, and a fully automatic Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator.
The robbers filled a jam jar with gasoline and placed it in the back seat with the intention of setting the car and weapons on fire to destroy evidence after the robbery. Phillips wore roughly 40 pounds (18 kg) of equipment, including a Type IIIA bulletproof vest and groin guard; a load bearing vest with multiple military ammo pouches; and several pieces of homemade body armor created from spare vests, covering his shins, thighs, and forearms. Mătăsăreanu wore only a Type IIIA bulletproof vest, but included a metal ballistic plate to protect vital organs. Additionally, each man had a watch sewn onto the back of one glove, in order to monitor their timing. Before entering, they took the barbiturate phenobarbital, prescribed to Mătăsăreanu as a sedative, to calm their nerves. The Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the Coroner's Office later also found ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine in Phillips' blood, and phenytoin in Mătăsăreanu's blood.
Bank robbery
Phillips and Mătăsăreanu, driving a white 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity, arrived at the Bank of America branch at the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street in North Hollywood around 9:16 a.m., and set their watch alarms for eight minutes, the time they had estimated it would take police to get to the bank in response to an alarm. To come up with this timeframe, Phillips had used a radio scanner to monitor police transmissions prior to the robbery. As the two were walking in, they were spotted by two LAPD officers, Loren Farell and Martin Perello, who were driving down Laurel Canyon in a patrol car. Officer Farell issued a call on the radio: "15-A-43, requesting assistance, we have a possible 211 in progress at the Bank of America."
As they approached the bank entrance, each armed with a Norinco Type 56 rifle, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu forced a customer leaving the ATM lobby near the entrance into the bank and onto the floor. A security guard inside saw the scuffle and the heavily armed robbers and radioed his partner in the parking lot to call the police; the call was not received. Phillips shouted, "This is a fucking hold-up!" before he and Mătăsăreanu opened fire into the ceiling in an attempt to scare the approximately thirty bank staff and customers and to discourage resistance.
Mătăsăreanu, using his Norinco rifle, shot open the bulletproof door (which was designed to resist only low-velocity pistol ammunition) and gained access to the tellers and vault. The robbers forced assistant manager John Villigrana to open the vault and begin to fill their money bag. However, due to a change in the bank's delivery schedule, the vault contained significantly less than the $750,000 the gunmen had expected.
Mătăsăreanu, enraged at this development, argued with Villigrana and demanded more. In an apparent show of frustration, Mătăsăreanu then fired a full drum magazine of 75 rounds into the bank's safe, destroying much of the remaining money. He then attempted to open the bank's ATM, but due to a change in policies, the branch manager no longer had access to the money inside. Before leaving, the robbers locked the hostages in the bank vault. In the end, the two left with $303,305 and three dye packs which later exploded, ruining a portion of the money they stole.
Shootout
Outside, the first-responding officers heard the gunfire within the bank and made another radio call reporting "shots fired" before taking cover behind their patrol car. While the robbers were still inside, additional North Hollywood Division patrol and detective units arrived and took strategic positions at all four corners of the bank, establishing a perimeter around it. At approximately 9:24 a.m., Phillips exited through the north doorway and after spotting a police cruiser 200 feet (60 m) away, opened fire for several minutes. In the initial shooting, Phillips wounded Sgt. Dean Haynes, Officers Martin Whitfield, James Zboravan, and Stuart Guy, and Detectives William Krulac and Tracey Angeles, as well as three civilians that had taken cover behind Sgt. Haynes' patrol car. Phillips also fired at an LAPD helicopter flown by Charles D. Perriguey Jr. as it surveyed the scene from above, forcing it to withdraw to a safer distance. Phillips briefly retreated inside, then reemerged through the north doorway, while Mătăsăreanu exited through the south exit.
Phillips and Mătăsăreanu continued to engage the officers, firing sporadic bursts into the patrol cars that had been positioned on Laurel Canyon in front of the bank and in the parking lot across the street. Officers, who were mostly armed with then-standard issue Beretta 92F/FS 9mm pistols, Smith & Wesson Model 15 .38 Special revolvers, and 12-gauge Ithaca Model 37 pump-action shotguns, continued to return fire at both robbers, but found their handguns and shotguns would not penetrate the body armor worn by Phillips and Mătăsăreanu. This was compounded by the fact that most of the LAPD officers' service pistols had insufficient power to be effective at the distances where most officers found themselves positioned relative to the bank entrance. An officer was heard on the LAPD police frequency approximately 10 to 15 minutes into the shootout, warning other officers that they should "not stop [the getaway vehicle], they've got automatic weapons, there's nothing we have that can stop them." Additionally, the officers were pinned down by the heavy sprays of gunfire coming from the robbers, making it extremely difficult to attempt a head shot with their handguns. Several officers acquired five AR-15-style rifles from a nearby gun store to combat the robbers.
Two locations adjacent to the bank's north parking lot provided good cover for officers and detectives. Police likely shot Phillips with their handguns while Phillips was still firing and taking cover near four vehicles adjacent to the north wall of the bank. One location that Officer Richard Zielenski of Valley Traffic Division effectively used for cover was the adjacent Del Taco restaurant's west wall, 351 feet (107 m) from Phillips. Zielenski fired 86 9mm rounds at Phillips and is believed to have hit Phillips during their exchange. Zielenski was also able to use this position to draw Phillips' fire away from Sgt. Haynes and Officer Whitfield, who were both wounded and had only marginal cover behind trees across Laurel Canyon Blvd. The other location that proved advantageous for the LAPD was the backyard of 6641 Agnes Avenue. A cinder block wall provided relative cover for several detectives shooting at Phillips with their 9mm pistols. Detective Vince Bancroft and Detective Kevin Harley, in particular, were able to position themselves behind cover and fire between 15 and 24 rounds at Phillips, from a distance of approximately 55 feet (17 m). After Mătăsăreanu backed the Chevrolet Celebrity out of the handicapped space in the north parking lot, Phillips received a gunshot wound to his left wrist, based upon helicopter news footage that showed him react to pain.
At the same approximate time, LAPD gunfire struck the Heckler & Koch rifle that Phillips was firing, rendering it inoperable with a bullet impact to the receiver, causing the magazine to become jammed in the mag well. Phillips discarded it and rearmed himself with another Type 56 rifle from the trunk of the sedan.
Arrival of SWAT team
After LAPD radio operators received the second "officer down" call from police at the shootout, a tactical alert was issued. An LAPD Metropolitan Division SWAT team (Donnie Anderson, Steve Gomez, Peter Weireter, and Richard Massa) arrived 18 minutes after the shooting had begun. They were armed with AR-15s, and wore running shoes and shorts under their body armor, as they had been on an exercise run when they received the call. Upon arrival, they commandeered a nearby armored car (driven by Hector Quevedo and David Campbell), which was used to extract wounded civilians and officers from the scene.