Enrique Alfredo Rivera was 36 years old when he died on Monday, October 10, 2016, in Inglewood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma on La Cienega Boulevard north of Florence Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.
Unlike many deaths on the coroner's list, this one came with a detailed account, drawn from coroner's records and published by the Los Angeles Times. Rivera, described as a transient, was walking south on La Cienega Boulevard at about 9:20 p.m. when he saw a car crash. A white Mercedes had been rear-ended by a Ford Taurus. As the two drivers pulled over and exchanged information, Rivera approached. According to the records, he grabbed a broken skateboard and threw it at a passing car, and the driver of the Ford then noticed that he had a knife.
Rivera told the driver of the Mercedes to get into her vehicle and lock the doors, which she did. He then waved the knife at a passenger in the Ford. The driver of the Ford picked up a concrete electric box cover and threw it at Rivera. The cover struck him in the face, and he fell. The front passenger stepped out of the car and threw away the knife and Rivera's backpack. The two then noticed that Rivera was not breathing and called 911. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9:49 p.m., less than half an hour after the encounter began.
The Times reported one more line: "Police did not make any arrests." No public record explains how the case was resolved. The account suggests that the man who threw the cover may have believed he was protecting the people around him, but no public statement from Inglewood police or the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office could be found saying whether the killing was reviewed and judged to be self-defense. A coroner's finding of homicide is not a judgment about blame.
Nothing else about Enrique Alfredo Rivera has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found, and the many people named Enrique Rivera who appear in online records could not be tied to the man who died in Inglewood. He surely had a family and a life before he was living on the street, but none of that has entered the public record.
Inglewood is a city in the southwestern part of Los Angeles County, close to Los Angeles International Airport. It is known for the Forum arena and, since 2020, for SoFi Stadium.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Enrique Alfredo Rivera could be found in news archives or public records. More than nine years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The drivers, passengers and passersby who were on La Cienega Boulevard near Florence Avenue on the night of October 10, 2016, know more about what happened than the public record shows, and anyone who knew Rivera may be able to say who he was. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can contact the Inglewood Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
