Los Angeles Police officers fatally shot a homeless man on Sunday afternoon, which was caught on video by a bystander and posted on Facebook.
The LAPD's Central Division and Safer Cities Initiative received a phone call about a robbery on Skid Row and officers responded at about noon on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Initiative is a special task force focused on Skid Row. There is an understanding that the homeless are allowed to sleep there, provided they dismantle their tents during the daytime.
Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the L.A. Times that the man, known to some as "Africa," was approached by officers and Africa "began fighting and physically resisting the officers." A struggle ensued and, according to police accounts, the officers' Tasers were ineffective.
"At some point in there, a struggle over one of the officer's weapons occurred," Smith told the L.A. Times. "At that point an officer-involved shooting happened."
No other other was recovered. Africa was pronounced dead at the scene, according to L.A. Times.
WARNING: This video contains graphic content and language. The video depicts shooting by the Los Angeles Police Department of the homeless man neighbors call "Africa" and foul language from by-standers who witnessed the incident. [GRAPHIC, NSFW]
The woman in the video who picked up the officer's baton is expected to be arrested, Smith told L.A. Times, but as of 9 p.m. Sunday night, she had not been booked.
Smith told the L.A. Times that the police is aware of the bystander video and that one of the officers was wearing a body camera. Investigators will use enhancement software to determine what the officers said to Africa before he was shot.
"Of course we're aware of the video," Smith told the L.A. Times. "Any video that shows someone losing their life in an altercation with police is going to be disturbing. It's disturbing for police officers to watch."
"It's always tragic when there's a loss of life in one of these situations," Smith said. "It's not an incident taken lightly by any police officer. But we are committed to everyone involved and to the public to conduct a thorough and complete investigation."
A witness, 53-year-old Lonnie Franklin, told the L.A. Times that five to six officers approached Africa with guns drawn and that they "went straight to lethal force."
Another witness, 38-year-old Jose Gil told the L.A. Times that the man known as Africa started to throw punches at the officers, at which time Gil heard one of the officers say, "Gun, gun, he's got my gun!" Multiple shots were the fired.
A man who lives in the area where the shooting took place identified himself as Booker T. Washington to the L.A. Times and said that police had asked Africa to take down his tent repeatedly. Sleeping on the streets of Skid Row is permitted between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., but per a court agreement, the tents must be removed in the daytime.
"This man got shot over a tent," Washington said.
Ina Murphy, another neighbor, told the L.A. Times that Africa had shown up about four or five months ago after being released from a 10 year stay in a mental facility.
Police Commission President Steve Soboroff initially saw the video of the shooting on social media. He told the L.A. Times that he was watching the clip again, trying to hear what the officers had said to Africa prior to the shooting.
"My heart just started pounding just watching it," Soboroff said. "I feel the adrenaline. These situations are just so horrific."
The question is: did Africa reach for the officer's gun?
"To me, that would be the only explanation that something would happen that quickly," Soboroff told the L.A. Times. "It escalated. It escalated right in front of our eyes."
"Of course I would encourage people not to rush to judgment," Soboroff continued. "It's not fair to anybody. It's not fair to the family of the victim or the victim or the officers. We'll find out what happened."
