Los Angeles cops kill man who was down on ground

Los Angeles: Los Angeles police fatally shot a man on Sunday in an incident that was caught on video and circulated widely online, with the department saying officers resorted to deadly force after the man had reached for one of their guns. The graphic footage, which appeared on Facebook, shows a violent altercation between a man and several officers in LA’s ‘Skid Row’. However, it’s unclear that why the cops shot him while he was lying on the ground.

The video also appears to show the man flailing at officers as they try to subdue him. A voice yelling “Drop the gun!” can be heard before several shots ring out and several onlookers cry out in alarm. The Los Angeles Police Department said three police officers — a sergeant and two officers — fired at the man after he reached for an officer’s firearm during the altercation. Police had been called to the scene over a reported robbery and were attempting to detain the suspect, who engaged in a fight, Commander Andrew Smith, LAPD spokesman, said.

During the struggle, police also used a Taser, he said.The man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Smith said, adding that he could not confirm whether the individual was homeless. ‘Skid Row’ is a run-down area that houses many hostels and services for the region’s homeless people, some of whom pitch tents on the sidewalks.

Witnesses said the man had been fighting with someone in his tent before the police arrived, the LA Times said. Investigations into the deadly incident will be conducted by an independent inspector general, the district attorney and the LAPD Force Investigation Division, Smith said. Two officers sustained minor injuries, and those who fired on the man have been removed from the field and assigned home for the time being, Smith added.

It was not yet known how many times the man was shot or how many officers were at the scene. He added that the coroner would release the individual’s identity after his next of kin are notified. The video comes against a backdrop of highly publicised police shootings of black men that sparked weeks of protests in 2014. Some media reports claim the man in the ‘Skid Row’ shooting was a black, but it is still not clear from the video. However, at least one of the officers at the scene was black, several news reports claim.