In Los Angeles, a man was killed by police

Sunday, March 8, 2015 - 9:00am

Author: 

Sam Nelson

Illustrator: 

Salva Ferrando
What happened?

In Los Angeles ...

... in a neighborhood called "Skid Row" ...

... police shot and killed a man.
A man was watching. He recorded the shooting with his cell phone.

You can watch the video here. Warning: The video is very violent.

How did the shooting happen?
The man was inside a tent.
Police told him to come out of the tent, but he did not.
Police pulled him out of the tent.
Police tried to arrest him. There were at least four police officers.
He fought with the police officers.
They shot him with a taser.
While he was on the ground, he kept fighting.
He may have been trying to grab a police officer's gun.
A police officer said "Drop the gun. Drop the gun."
Then the police shot him five times.
He died.
Two police officers were slightly injured.
What do the police say?
The police may have thought that he was involved in a robbery.
"Officers were responding to a robbery call" - Sergeant Barry Montgomery, LAPD Spokesman
"The police were trying to take him into custody. The suspect was fighting."
-- LAPD statement
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"The police tried to use a TASER. The suspect kept fighting and resisting."
-- LAPD statement
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"While on the ground, the suspect struggled over one of the officer's guns."
-- LAPD statement
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"Then, an officer-involved shooting occurred."
-- LAPD statement
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The LAPD has begun an investigation. The district attorney will conduct a review.
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It's going to be a long investigation. We will get to the bottom of it" - Sergeant Montgomery
"It's disturbing any time anyone loses their life. It's a tragedy." - LAPD Commander Andrew Smith
Who was the man?
The man was homeless. His name was Africa.
He lived in a tent on the street.
He had been living there for about four months.
Africa may have been mentally handicapped.
"He had a lot of mental health issues." - Friend Tonya Edwards
"They could have just wrestled him down" - Witness Yolonda Young
"He didn't have no weapon." - Witness Yolonda Young