A black man was shot and killed by Los Angeles deputies Monday afternoon after running from the officers, engaging in a fight, and then producing a weapon.
The deputies had approached the man, who is described as being in his thirties, for violating a vehicle code while he was riding a bicycle.
The man ran away from the officers, initiating a pursuit. When the officers caught up with the man, he punched one of them in the face, simultaneously dropping the items he was carrying, which included a black, semi-automatic handgun.
It was at that time that both deputies opened fire.
Lt. Brandon Dean from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department gave an account of the shooting:
“Our suspect was holding some item of clothing in his hands, punched one of the officers in the face, and then dropped the items in his hands.
The deputies noticed that inside the clothing items that he dropped was a black, semi-automatic handgun, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
The deputies fired multiple times, but it has not yet been determined exactly how many times they fired.
Deputies tried to render aid to the man after the shooting, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigations are currently underway.
75 to 100 demonstrators gathered at the scene by nightfall. Black Lives Matter of LA requested “all hands on deck” at the scene:
Los Angeles County Sheriffs killed a Black man…Dijon…on 109th and Budlong and left his body facedown in the dirt.
We need all hands on deck.
Please get here ASAP!— #BlackLivesMatter-LA (@BLMLA) September 1, 2020
Two videos of the events are currently circulating on social media. The first video shows the man running through the neighborhood away from the pursuing police officers.
The second video begins moments after the man was shot. The deputies still have their guns aimed in the man’s direction as additional patrol cars arrive.
Shouts of criticism of the officers is heard from the man capturing the footage as well as from other bystanders.
8/31/20 Los Angeles | Video circulating on social media shows 2 different scenes from the Deputy-involved shooting.
2nd clip shows immediately after man was shot and lying on the ground. 2/2
Credit: The Pan AF Report https://t.co/9iCmqo90ZN pic.twitter.com/Rdeq85Ch1Q
— Liz Jones (@LizJone26271417) September 1, 2020
“What’s the use of having the prison system if y’all are just gonna kill us?” a woman interviewed by CBSN Los Angeles asked. She wanted to remain anonymous, but she said she knew the man. “What are y’all here for? Who are you protecting?”
Another video making its rounds on Twitter shows a car driving through the glass windows of a storefront in LA.
It is unclear whether this was in direct response to the shooting, but the violent responses of the public to police shootings in recent months suggest the possibility.
People in Los Angeles are already about to turn up in response to that police shooting of a Black man earlier..
This just happened on Melrose. pic.twitter.com/SD1LIY8ViE
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) September 1, 2020
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