A Black man was reportedly shot dead with 30 bullets by Los Angeles police as he crawled away.
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According to Capt. Steven Katz, the two responding deputies fired a total of 33 shots – one fired 17, the other 16 – when Robertson refused their instructions to drop the gun.
The chaotic scene unfolded near a gas station, putting several civilians in danger.
In the 29-second video obtained by KTLA and filmed from a restaurant across the street, a sheriff’s deputy follows Robertson as he appears to be walking away from the deputy.
Updated 1:47 p.m.: The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department released photos and a video that appear to show Robertson holding a gun, reports the L.A. Times.
The first 911 caller reported seeing a black man walking down a street shooting a gun in the air. It is believed he walked east along Magnolia toward Long Beach Boulevard.
Witnesses told authorities that Robertson fired six to seven rounds and briefly went into a vehicle wash and a pizza parlor before deputies arrived.
“There was some grave concern for the number of people in that area”, Katz said.
At least a dozen gunshots are then heard, and Robertson falls to the ground.
The calls were made several minutes before two deputies confronted Robertson near a gas station.
Witnesses in the immediate area told investigators they saw the suspect turn and point the gun at deputies before the shooting, Navarro-Suarez said.
Robertson allegedly held a.45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, which was not registered to him, throughout the entire ordeal. Nekesha Robertson said she was on her way to get him and had stopped at the same gas station to buy milk before the shooting. There is also not any evidence that he fired at the deputies or anyone else, at this time. His alleged weapon was empty, but he was toting additional ammunition, Katz said. He said Robertson might have had some type of “domestic discord” with his spouse that prompted his actions but did not provide details.
Under department protocol, any time there is an deputy-involved shooting, investigations from the L.A. County District Attorney, the L.A. County Coroner, the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau are called to the scene and the incident is reviewed.
The initial video of Robertson’s death sparked outrage for what his wife’s cousin described as an unjustified shooting.
“I think we showed that he had a weapon in his hand throughout the whole encounter”, McDonnell told reporters. McDonnell said that the two deputies involved have been reassigned from field duty during the investigation.
“The sentiment across America has been critical”, the sheriff added.
The sheriff’s department stressed that the investigation is in its “infancy” and that they want to be “as transparent as we can”.
As police probed the deadly incident, Robertson’s relatives said they would struggle to explain the incident to his children.
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Robertson was a father of an 8-year-old and 7-year-old twins. He can later be seen crawling away, however, the police continued shooting at him. In 2015, 1,133 people have been shot and killed by law enforcement in the United States. “When he collapsed, his arms were underneath him, and the gun was still in his hand”, Katz said.
