The LAPD shooting of a homeless man during a struggle on the city’s Skid Row over the weekend is being heavily scrutinized after it was caught on cell phone video and uploaded to Facebook.
The Facebook page where the video was uploaded now says the content is unavailable, but the clip also appears on YouTube. It contains strong language and may be disturbing to some viewers.
The Los Angeles Times said in reviewing the video closely, it looks as if the homeless man reached toward a police officer’s weapon before being fatally shot.
The LAPD made a statement saying that officers approached the man, who began fighting with them. They tried to use a taser on the man, but it was not effective.
"At some point in there, a struggle over one of the officer's weapons occurred," Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the Times. "At that point, an officer-involved shooting happened."
Two LAPD officers and one sergeant fired shots, according to the Times.
In the midst of the struggle, the video shows a woman pass by and pick up a police officer's baton that had been dropped. Two officers break away and grab the woman, who was then taken into custody.
Smith told the Times that she is expected to be arrested, but had not been booked as of Sunday evening.
CNN talked with Anthony Blackburn, who was responsible for the Facebook video. He told the news station that he was surprised four officers couldn’t subdue the man. He didn’t understand why they didn’t “shoot the man in the leg."
"He's already on the ground," Blackburn said.
Yolanda Young, another witness, told KTLA, “He was down, but then he jumped up, like he was juiced up, and then he started swinging at the police and they were fighting him back . . . They shot him five times.”
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