Autopsy finds actor was shot in back by police

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A policeman who killed an actor holding a toy gun at a Halloween party shot the man from behind, an autopsy concluded.

Deputy Medical Examiner Jeffrey P. Gutstadt declared Monday that Anthony Dwain Lee was shot four times Oct. 28, three in the back and one in the back of the head.

The night of the Halloween party, officers Tarriel Hopper and Natalie Humpherys were responding to a noise complaint at a Hollywood Hills mansion when they were asked by a guard for the party to wait in the foyer for a host.

Instead, Hopper rounded the house and fired nine shots through a glass door after seeing Lee's rubber replica of a handgun.

Attorney Cameron Stewart said she plans to file a wrongful death claim with the city for Lee's family.

LAPD spokesman Lt. Horace Frank declined to comment on the autopsy, which also found Lee had cocaine and alcohol in Lee's system. Frank did say the shots from behind could be explained.

Lee, 39, had appeared on TV shows such as "ER" and "NYPD Blue."