Video shows LA police shooting homeless man
This screengrab shows Los Angeles policemen (background) standing near a homeless man slumped on the sidewalk seconds after a lawman shot him several times during a scuffle. SOCIAL MEDIA SCREENGRAB
LOS ANGELES, United States – Los Angeles police officers fatally shot a homeless man Sunday in an incident that was caught on video and posted online, local media reported.
The graphic video, which was posted on Facebook, shows a violent altercation between a man and several officers in LA’s Skid Row area near downtown.
The circumstances around the shooting were not immediately clear but the video appears to show a 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 didn’t immediately return a call for comment, but local media said at least one officer had opened fire.
Article continues after this advertisementDead at hospital
Article continues after this advertisementThe man was declared dead at a hospital soon after the shooting, police spokesman Sergeant Barry Montgomery told the Los Angeles Times.
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.
Officers were responding to a robbery call and a witness said the victim had been fighting with someone in his tent, the Times reported.
The video comes against a backdrop of highly publicized police shootings of black men that sparked weeks of protests late last year.
A local CBS television affiliate reported that tensions in the area remained high for hours after the shooting.
The video also shows police grabbing a woman after she picks up a baton that an officer dropped, then appears to raise it.
The video can be viewed on this Facebook page: https://u.afp.com/Hyn
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