FWIW: not to derail this thread much farther, the laws in LA are straight forward. If you cause the death of another during the commission of a crime you can be charged in that death regardless their connection to the event. There are various past examples of this. The difference here is people died in an aircraft. In one case a carjacker fleeing police caused another vehicle to lose control and hit a tree where a pax in that car died as a result. No different than the R44 hitting a tree. The car jacker got 5 years for manslaughter. In another, a cop was in full pursuit with lights/siren when he hit another vehicle killing 2 people. The next week that officer was arrested for negligent homicide. Different charge same scenario. What the officer did was against the law. Given this accident involved a PD aircraft I'm sure more info will be released sooner than later.