But when two patrol officers investigating a noise complaint arrived at the mansion at 1 a.m., the plan went horribly wrong. According to police, one member of the dwindling crowd of more than a hundred, Anthony Lee, 39, an actor whose career was heating up (1997's Liar, Liar; NYPD Blue), pointed a realistic replica gun at one of the officers, Tar-riel Hopper, 27. Cops say Hopper, fearing for his life, fired nine times at Lee through a window, killing him on the spot. "The bottom line is, this is a tragedy," says LAPD spokesman Sgt. John Pasquariello.
For critics of the L.A. police, mired in a wide-ranging corruption scandal and under federal scrutiny designed to overhaul the department, Lee's death raised troubling questions. "There were people in costume at this party," says L.A. city council member Jackie Goldberg. "I would ask whether or not these officers announced they were police." (So far race has not become a flash point; Hopper, like the victim, is African-American.)
At a vigil held outside a West Los Angeles police station on Oct. 30, Lee's friends momentarily put aside anger to pay tribute to the divorced actor, a onetime Sacramento gang member whose late mother reportedly urged him to use his deep, rich voice to become a performer. With upcoming TV and movie roles—including appearances on ER—Lee was well on his way. "There was no one more caring or bighearted," says director Tim Bond, 42, a longtime friend. "He was the best hugger in the world."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
