A 28-year-old man who was shot dead by Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies had fired rounds into the air in a neighborhood and sparked multiple calls to police in the minutes leading up to his death, police said Sunday after protests.
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Investigators said two deputies fired 33 bullets at Robertson after he refused to drop the gun and walked across a busy street to a filling station where a family was pumping gas. Witnesses said they saw the suspect turn and point the weapon at the officers, the statement said.
The officers challenged the man in front of a petrol station, ordering him repeatedly to drop the gun, according to the sheriff’s department.
“When they shot him within the shoulder and I see him falling … that is injustice, for me”, Robertson’s mom-in-regulation Pamela Brown advised KTLA. “We have no confidence that the Sheriff’s Department can or will be impartial in investigating itself”.
Moreover, Katz said some people at the gas station believed that Robertson was going to shoot them because they saw the firearm on him.
“They shot him”, said Tracy Brown, a relative of his wife, told the Los Angeles Times.
“He did not comply with their repeated requests to drop the weapon”, LASD Homicide Unit Capt. Steven Katz said.
When an officer-involved shooting results in the wounding of a suspect, separate investigations begin at the scene by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau, with the Office of the Inspector General also present, the sheriff’s department statement said.
Dozens of protesters took to the intersection where the shooting happened Saturday night. After the gunfire ceases, the person is seen crawling on the bottom away from the officers, who open hearth on him once more. He admitted there will always be criticism when the police or deputies are involved in a shooting, but said the department would be as transparent as possible. His alleged weapon was empty, but he was toting additional ammunition, Katz said.
KTLA found that when they slowed down the video, they counted more than 30 total shots fired.
KTLA reported stated the person killed by police was 28-yr-previous Nicholas Robertson, citing kinfolk.
The shooting took place just before 11am on Saturday in Lynwood, a city about 25 kilometres south of downtown Los Angeles. The two deputies that shot Robertson have been removed from field duty for the investigation.
Katz also said that Robertson might have experienced some “domestic discord” with his wife that could have prompted his actions, but did not provide further details.
One image shows the suspect wielding a handgun in broad daylight as he ambled down the heavily-trafficked street, while another photo appears to show Robertson holding the gun even as he lies mortally wounded.
According to authorities, Robertson fired about six shots in a residential area before police arrived. Police were responding to a stabbing report when they encountered Woods. The investigation is ongoing, officials said, and anyone with video or information from the incident is asked to come forward.
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“We understand the significant community concern anytime the police are involved in the use of deadly force”, Sheriff Jim McDonnell told reporters at a news conference, adding that he planned to be “thorough and deliberate” in his probe. If the suspect wasn’t armed or they didn’t have a solid basis for that belief, that would more problematic’.
