Police Shoot and Kill Homeless Man

stunmer

It's happened again.

Warning - graphic video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY_xuj2X2gY

cruais

Mass protests will happen once more.

deise08

Not again?

Rosy Posy

Is there a link to an article? Or more information? I would like to know what happened but I don't want to watch the video. RIP

Dancor

At 20 seconds it sounds like ''He's got my gun''

Grab All Association

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2975139/Video-shows-Los-Angeles-police-officer-shoot-dead-homeless-man-broad-daylight.html

crybaby

in before amazingfun arrives on the scene armed with a full criminal record of the victim and two examples of black on white crime

Grab All Association

Dancor wrote: »

At 20 seconds it sounds like ''He's got my gun''

Actually looking at it you can see the suspect reaching around to grab something

whiskeyman

Rosy Posy wrote: »

Is there a link to an article? Or more information? I would like to know what happened but I don't want to watch the video. RIP

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/02/los-angeles-police-shoot-dead-homeless-man-after-street-altercation

Police officers shot and killed a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday in a dramatic confrontation caught on video.

Five officers grappled on a pavement with a man known as Africa before shooting him five times in front of horrified onlookers.

The victim, whose full name has not been made public, was pronounced dead shortly after the encounter, which unfolded just before midday in skid row, a neighbourhood of homeless people and shelters close to the financial district.


Sergeant Barry Montgomery, an LAPD spokesman, told LA television station KTLA the incident would be fully investigated. “It’s going to be a long investigation and we will, you know, get to the bottom of it.” The department did not immediately respond to a Guardian request for elaboration.

People at the scene and on social media expressed shock that a scuffle on a busy street in broad daylight ended with lethal force, putting police violence under renewed scrutiny in the wake of protests over fatal encounters in Ferguson, New York and other cities.

People took to Twitter to link the cases. “Here we go. Again,” said @sanacardi. “When will this end??” said @CaileyCron.

Continue reading at the link above

Sheeps

That's one way to tackle the homeless problem.

whiskeyman

Chris___ wrote: »

Actually looking at it you can see the suspect reaching around to grab something

He was tazered and no doubt arms flailing everywhere... he probably got a handle on one of the officers guns and they thought this was valid reason to kill him.

Scary stuff

BoJack Horseman

I wonder what was the reason for the need for several police officers in the first place?

masti123

They even cuffed the man before they shot him. Psychopaths.

Americas gun laws are ridiculous.

Nothing will be done until they Democrats are in power of both houses. Even then it might not not.

This is a debate that comes up weekly as this stage and will continue to.

It'll probably take a famous person or political figure to get wrongly killed for anything to happen.

handlemaster

Hardly surprising another killing next week and the week after.. Training seems to be an issue on how to deal with people .

BoJack Horseman

rarnes1 wrote: »

Nothing will be done until they Democrats are in power of both houses.

Like between 2008 - 2010?

speedboatchase

You have to be a really, really ignorant black person to call a black person who became a cop a "sell out".

threeball

masti123 wrote: »

They even cuffed the man before they shot him. Psychopaths.

I had thought so too but wasn't sure. And shooting a handcuffed man 5 times because you claim he reached for your gun?????

kryogen

5 shots seems excessive

ZiabR

masti123 wrote: »

They even cuffed the man before they shot him. Psychopaths.

Thats the part I don't get, it makes no sense...

Noxin

I remember I used to think I'd love to live in the states..
The place really has gone bat $hit insane.

I think it really depends on whether the suspect actually had hold of the officers weapon.
If he just reached for it, then it would appear from the video the officers over reacted with devastating consequences.
If however he did have hold of the officers weapon, then I reckon its a lawful killing.

threeball

Noxin wrote: »

I remember I used to think I'd love to live in the states..
The place really has gone bat $hit insane.

Completely stoked by the medias love of sensationalism. Watching American news channels is like reading the Daily Mail 24hrs a day. You have to think that this is a policy that is encouraged in the corridors of Washington also.

speedboatchase

Noxin wrote: »

I remember I used to think I'd love to live in the states..
The place really has gone bat $hit insane.

It hasn't really. But if you charge at a cop, try to steal a cop's gun, or wave around an imitation gun, you will most likely be shot and killed because cops are authorised to use force in such situations.

The only reason it seems like things are different is the prevalence of smartphones these days and the fact that some of the victims were black, which the media framed as suggestive of a pattern.

BoJack Horseman

Noxin wrote: »

I remember I used to think I'd love to live in the states..
The place really has gone bat $hit insane.

Once you get past the post apocalyptic hellscape, its not so bad.

threeball

bubblypop wrote: »

I think it really depends on whether the suspect actually had hold of the officers weapon.
If he just reached for it, then it would appear from the video the officers over reacted with devastating consequences.
If however he did have hold of the officers weapon, then I reckon its a lawful killing.

How hard is it to disarm a man with his hands cuffed behind his back. One officers overreaction to a completely retrievable situation results in another unloading almost his entire weapon into one man lying face down on a pavement. I usually have no truck when scumbags get their comeuppance but this was something else entirely.

RWCNT

speedboatchase wrote: »

You have to be a really, really ignorant black person to call a black person who became a cop a "sell out".

Was it not the black cop that fired the lethal shots? I think that was what inspired that remark.

threeball

threeball wrote: »

How hard is it to disarm a man with his hands cuffed behind his back. One officers overreaction to a completely retrievable situation results in another unloading almost his entire weapon into one man lying face down on a pavement. I usually have no truck when scumbags get their comeuppance but this was something else entirely.

Unfortunately, even if someone has cuffs on it takes less than a second to knock off a round.
If someone grabs an officers gun then they will be shot, it is justifiable.
I'm not saying that is the case here, I can't tell from the video.

MRnotlob606

That's disgusting.

slimpickens

Was the man handcuffed, vefore he was shot?

threeball

bubblypop wrote: »

Unfortunately, even if someone has cuffs on it takes less than a second to knock off a round.
If someone grabs an officers gun then they will be shot, it is justifiable.
I'm not saying that is the case here, I can't tell from the video.

Takes a whole lot more in the position he was in. Try it, lie on the ground with your hands behind your back not being able to move one without moving the other then get someone to kneel beside you and try to grab something from their hip. A object that is designed to grip in the opposite direction to the position in which your hand is positioned, then manoeuvre it into a position where you could actually pull the trigger all while having someone leaning/kneeling on you to control you.

yipeeeee

You reach for a cops gun that's what happens, fairly simple logic.

Mother****er mother****er:) gotta love the American twang.

masti123

yipeeeee wrote: »

You reach for a cops gun that's what happens, fairly simple logic.

Mother****er mother****er:) gotta love the American twang.

So grabbing a cops gun while handcuffed results in immediate death penalty? Doesn't seem right to me.

yipeeeee

Noxin wrote: »

I remember I used to think I'd love to live in the states..
The place really has gone bat $hit insane.

Compared to the size of Ireland and the shootings were probably ahead in gang related shootings.

Well we are number one in Europe anyway for gangland murders.

Not that this was gang related but it's no more sane than america.

yipeeeee

masti123 wrote: »

So grabbing a cops gun while handcuffed results in immediate death penalty? Doesn't seem right to me.

Come on, we don't know the full story, but once you reach for a cops gun it's lights out.

You don't even put your hand in your pocket if a cop is pointing his gun at you.

This is all common sense and fairly basic stuff.

NIMAN

Is there not the sound of a single gunshot before the cops start firing?
Maybe he got a round off first, which would have been all the cops needed to waste him.

I agree that it seems out of control in the US for cops, they kill you now at the drop of a hat. LiveLeak is full of videos of cops shooting people for little or no reason.

threeball

yipeeeee wrote: »

Come on, we don't know the full story, but once you reach for a cops gun it's lights out.

You don't even put your hand in your pocket if a cop is pointing his gun at you.

This is all common sense and fairly basic stuff.

Common sense isn't a strong suit with many mentally ill people and if you're dealing with homeless people you'll be dealing with a lot of mental illness. Maybe a cop should have more sense than to put his carrying hip on top of a persons hand when restraining them, surely that's where the common sense comes into play.
If your scenario plays out and you get arrested in the states and some overzealous cop begins incorrectly ranting about you going for his gun I suppose you'd be happy that its open season?

Mr. Manager

As callous as that statement is from Yipeeeee, I would agree.

yipeeeee

Cereal Rapper wrote: »

As callous as that statement is from Yipeeeee, I would agree.

Im not trying to be callous, it's just something I think it's quite obvious.

But he could have mental problems alright, but is a cop trained to deal with such instances, they see someone reaching for a gun or grabbing it, it's how they react.

Standard Toaster

Mammyfeckers

threeball

yipeeeee wrote: »

Im not trying to be callous, it's just something I think it's quite obvious.

But he could have mental problems alright, but is a cop trained to deal with such instances, they see someone reaching for a gun or grabbing it, it's how they react.

Surely that's an essential part of their training but it seems in the states its DEFCON 5 in all situations.

Egginacup

Dancor wrote: »

At 20 seconds it sounds like ''He's got my gun''

That's standard operating procedure now for cops in America. When then slam your face onto the concrete and kneel on your head they repeatedly yell "Stop resisting! Stop reaching for my gun! Stop resisting! Stop reaching for my gun!" You might actually be unconscious and incapable of doing anything but they still yell this for all to hear so that if they kill you then that will be their story....that you were resisting and/or "reaching" for the cop's gun.

Here's another bunch of heroes tazing a pensioner:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/watch-florida-police-tase-elderly-man-hands/

The Backwards Man

In before Eggi. . .oh.

NIMAN

You would have thought that with about 8 cops about they could have managed the situation in some way that wouldn't have ended in this?

Why not have 3 of them hand their guns to their colleagues, then go to arrest the man? That way he couldn't grab a gun.

If it was 1 cop on to 1 homeless guy I could maybe understand this, but not when they had so many bodies available.

Nunu

What sort of confrontation training, if any, do the LAPD get?

The whole situation was a mess, like watching a royal rumble the way they tackled him. Non plan of action at all!

I've no doubt the deceased got a hold of a gun, but the situation should never have arisen. It was wholly preventable.

NIMAN

Since there seems to be little or no chance of cops ever getting charged with manslaughter in the US, this sort of action will only increase in the future.

suicide_circus

Fairly shocking alright. If his hands were actually cuffed behind his back then there can be no real excuse for this.

Egginacup

The Backwards Man wrote: »

In before Eggi. . .oh.

What? In before I express disgust at yet another needless slaying at the hands of the police?

SweetChaos

America is a cesspit and the police are cowards they seem to be trained to shoot first ask questions later, the gung ho shower of chit that they are

The Backwards Man

Egginacup wrote: »

What? In before I express disgust at yet another needless slaying at the hands of the police?

Yep.

StewartGriffin

Well done to the man who filmed the scene. He might not be a role model to kids, with his maternal-copulation issues and all, but it's cos people like him have the courage to film these things that ensures they're not swept under that giant police dept. carpet.