LAPD Shoot and Kill A Homeless Man on Skid Row After Altercation [GRAPHIC]

skidrow police shootingLOS ANGELES, CA –  Police shot and killed a man during a confrontation in downtown Los Angeles Sunday. Police reported that they were responding to a robbery, but when they confronted the man the incident escalated, leading to his brutal death caught on camera.

Police have not released the name of the suspect, but according to the LA Times, witnesses identified the victim by his street name, “Africa,”.

Reportedly, he had been living in a tent on the section of L.A. known as Skid Row, for a few months after spending some time in a mental health facility. The LAPD has been struggling with effectively policing the area, which has been well-known known as a destination for people with severe mental illnesses for years.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the LA Times that officers assigned to the LAPD’s Central Division and Safer Cities Initiative — a task force focused on Skid Row — responded to the location at noon Sunday after receiving a 911 call reporting a possible robbery.

Smith said when the officers approached the man, he “began fighting and physically resisting the officers. At one point they attempted to use Taser, that was “ineffective”, when trying to take the man into custody.

The man continued to resist police resulting in the man and some of the officers falling to the ground, during which time the man reached for an officer’s weapon, according to Smith. The two officers and a sergeant fired at the man, where he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

In the video you can hear an officer yelling, “Put the gun down!” several times before the sound of 5 shots are fired.

According to Smith, no other gun was recovered at the scene. It was unclear if the man had any other weapons among his possessions — investigators were still probing the scene late Sunday night.

Two officers were treated and released for injuries sustained in the struggle.

The woman seen in the video recording picking up an officer’s baton was detained and is expected to be arrested, Smith said. As of 9 p.m. Sunday, she was not booked and the charged she faces are unclear, but it would stem from her picking up the baton, Smith said.

One witness can be heard in one video complaining that there had been at least six officers to handle the situation killing an unarmed man.

“Ain’t nobody got no … gun!” a man in the video shouts.

[Video Here]: WARNING: Explicit language and violence

Dennis Horne, 29, told the LA Times that Africa had been fighting with someone inside his tent.

When Africa refused to comply with a police order to come out of the tent, officers used a stun gun and dragged him out, Horne said. The officers tackled Africa, forcing him onto his back on the sidewalk.

“It’s sad,” Horne said. “There’s no justification to take somebody’s life.”

Another witness, Jose Gil, 38, told LA Times that he saw Africa swinging at the police before one of the officers started shouting that the man was going for his gun.

While two amateur videos did emerge involving the shooting, reportedly, one officer was wearing a body camera. Investigators are looking into what was captured from that video as well. 

Based on the video recording, it was unclear what the officers told the man before they fired, Smith stated. Investigators would use audio enhancement software to determine what exactly was said and when, he said.

Police Commissioner Board President Steve Soboroff first saw the video of the shooting via social media. Watching it again when reached by a Times reporter Sunday evening, he attempted to hear exactly what the officers had said to the man.

“My heart just started pounding just watching it,” Soboroff said. “I feel the adrenaline. These situations are just so horrific.”

Whether or not the man tried to grab the officer’s gun will be the key issue, Soboroff said. Otherwise, it is unclear what might have prompted the use of deadly force.

Soboroff said the LAPD, the independent inspector general and the district attorney’s office would each investigate the shooting “very, very carefully.”

“Of course, I would encourage people not to rush to judgment. It’s not fair to anybody. It’s not fair to the family of the victim or the victim or the officers,” he said. “We’ll find out what happened.”

A review of this shooting is being conducted by the The LAPD’s specialized Force Investigative Division and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.

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