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| Los Angeles Police detective Meghan Aguilar points at photos released by police that could indicate evidence of a suspect holding a police officer's gun, seen in a video grab scene shot by a witness at the scene of the shooting of a homeless man on Skid Row of Los Angeles, displayed at a news conference at police headquarters Monday, March 2, 2015. Chief Charlie Beck says officers fatally shot a homeless man on Skid Row after he grabbed an officer's holster during a struggle. Three Los Angeles police officers shot and killed the man on Sunday, as they wrestled with him on the ground, a confrontation captured on video that millions have viewed online. Authorities say the man was shot after grabbing for an officer's gun. |
LOS ANGELES
(AP) -- Police fatally shot a homeless man on Skid Row during a "brutal"
videotaped struggle in which a rookie officer cried out that the man
had grabbed his gun, the Los Angeles police chief said Monday.
Video
showed the man reaching toward the officer's waistband, Chief Charlie
Beck said. The officer's gun was found partly cocked and jammed with a
round of ammunition in the chamber and another in the ejection port,
indicating a struggle for the weapon.
"You can
hear the young officer who was primarily engaged in the confrontation
saying that `He has my gun. He has my gun,'" Beck said. "He says it
several times, with conviction."
Then three other officers opened fire.
The man was black, as was the rookie officer who was just short of completing his probationary year on the force, police said.
Beck's
narrative of the shooting, including photos from video showing the
condition of the gun, was rare, emerging just 24 hours after an
officer-involved shooting. It came amid heightened attention to killings
by police officers that have led to protests, some violent, across the
country.
Sunday's violence had echoes of the
August police shooting of 25-year-old Ezell Ford, whose death in a
struggle with LA officers brought demonstrations in the city. Ford was
unarmed. Police said he was shot after reaching for an officer's gun.
Mayor
Eric Garcetti said he and the police chief needed to respond quickly to
reassure residents that there is a robust investigation into the
shooting, which occurred in the downtown area that is home to the city's
highest concentration of homeless people.
"I
watched the video, I watched the tragic events on Skid Row unfold," the
mayor said. "We owe the city a thorough investigation as to what
happened."
The shooting was caught by at least
four cameras, two held by witnesses and two worn by officers who fired
their weapons. There was also a camera in a police car and a security
camera on a nearby shelter captured events leading up to the incident.
The
American Civil Liberties Union called on the Police Department to
quickly release footage shot by the officers' body cameras.
One witness posted his video to Facebook, which drew millions of views.
Police
were investigating a reported robbery when they tried to talk with the
suspect and he refused to obey their commands and started fighting, Beck
said. Stun guns fired at the man had "appeared to have little effect
and he continued to violently resist."
As the
man took swings, four officers wrestled him to the ground. Two other
officers subdued and handcuffed a woman who had picked up a dropped
baton.
The struggle became blurry and distant, but shouting could be heard, followed by five apparent gunshots.
A
memorial sprung up where the shooting occurred. White roses were placed
over a tent, blankets and clothing belonging to the dead man known as
"Africa."
James Attaway, 48, said the man's
first name was Shawn, but he nicknamed him because he was from Africa,
though he had family in Boston. They met six months ago, and Attaway
said they slept near each other.
Africa had
been living on the street for about a year, Attaway said. They met
talking about God and had done that earlier Sunday.
"He was on the spiritual side, very intelligent," Attaway said.
Tents
and cardboard shelters cover the sidewalks of Skid Row, where an
estimated 1,700 homeless people live. Many of them struggle with mental
illness and addiction and are no strangers to the police.
Cmdr.
Andrew Smith said the man had previous encounters with officers, though
he would not elaborate. Authorities withheld the man's name.
The
three officers who fired their weapons were veterans of the beat and
had special training to deal with the homeless and mentally ill.
"They
were trained to work with homeless," said Police Commission President
Steve Soboroff. "It wasn't a SWAT team looking for problems."
The shooting is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department's inspector general and the city's district attorney.
Activists called on Gov. Jerry Brown to appoint a special investigator to examine the killing.
Earl
Ofari Hutchinson, head of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable,
urged the city Police Commission to hold a special hearing on use of
force by officers in Skid Row.
Two of the
officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffle, including the rookie
officer, who is on crutches. All four officers were placed on paid
leave.
