LOS ANGELES Police officer kills unarmed man

A Culver City police officer shot to death an unarmed man who had his hand in his waistband during a traffic stop Saturday, authorities said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene in the Venice area of Los Angeles shortly after midnight, said Deputy Johnie Jones of the county Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the shooting.

The identities of the man and the officer were not immediately released.

Jones said that 20 minutes before the shooting, someone flagged down a Culver City patrol car and reported that a gun was pointed at him from a car.

Officers spotted a car matching the description. Tracing its license plate, they found a second report that someone inside had pointed a gun at people, Jones said.

When they stopped the car, a man got out with his hand in his waistband and ignored police orders, Jones said.

An officer feared the man was reaching for a gun and shot him, Jones said.

The man was unarmed, but a gun was found inside the car, Jones said.