Deadly LAPD Shooting Of Homeless Man Caught On Graphic Video

A homeless man, identified so far only by his street name of ‘Africa’ has been killed.?There are numerous witness accounts explaining what happened and what led to a LAPD officer killing the man.

Screenshot from video.
Screenshot from video.

The video of the altercation was uploaded to Facebook and can be seen below. In the video, you can see a scuffle taking place between the deceased and officers. At one point, nightsticks are dropped which are then picked up by a nearby woman. Officers then take control of her by handcuffing her. You can’t see too closely what happens with the homeless man and officers, but you hear about five gunshots.

Afterwards, you can hear witnesses cursing and echoing sentiments of disbelief as the man lay there seemingly lifeless. According to police spokesman Sgt. Barry Montgomery, the man was declared dead at a hospital after the shooting, which he said occurred around?noon.

The spokesman also said that they were responding to a robbery call?and that?no officers were injured during this confrontation.. The video shows that?at some point a taser was used, but they can’t say whether it actually hit the victim.

There are many accounts of what happened with some differing. According to one person, who remains unidentified, the homeless man punched and kicked cops and tried to go for one of their weapons before he was shot at least seven times.?Another witness says that an officer at one point yelled “gun, gun, he’s got my gun!”, and then multiple shots were fired.

Another man said that there was a fight in the man’s tent. When officers showed up, he refused to come out. At that time, officers dragged him out and a fight ensued. He says ‘Africa’ was on the ground trying to fight when he was shot and killed. He also added that he didn’t think this was justified.

A woman named Ina Murphy,?that?lives in an apartment near the location of today’s shooting, says that the deceased was recently released from a mental hospital after a 10-year stay.

We still don’t know exactly what happened, but we hope to get answers to many ongoing questions. My first would be, was an officer’s life actually in danger the moment the homeless man was shot? As we have seen in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown case,?at least to me, the answer would be no. Officers in cases like this get off with ease it seems.

I am not saying this shooting wasn’t justified because I couldn’t see everything from the video. But the video does show many officers, at lest four or five, engaging with ‘Africa’. How threatening can one person be compared to that many officers? Also, did he go for the officer’s gun? We hear this ALL the time. It is almost like police officers know the exact language to use. I am not saying this did happen. I am just saying that this story sounds so similar to every other one we hear.

But lastly, we should get insight into Murphy’s story about the man’s mental health. If he really was mentally ill at one point, who is to say he wasn’t on this fateful day? There has long been a history of extremely saddening situations involving the mentally ill in our country. From them getting abused and killed on the streets, to being locked up in our prison systems. The police undoubtedly need to learn how to deal with potentially ill people in less fatal ways.

I am hoping that many of my concerns as well as others concerns will be addressed. But with the handling of cases like Tamir Rice and Ezell Ford, I can’t say I have much hope.

Warning: The video below is of the actual recording of the fatal shooting. It is graphic and should not be viewed by those who may easily be affected by violent images. The video also contains heavy cursing.

 

I was born on January 13, 1990. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. I moved up north and attended the University of CT from 2008 to 2012. I currently also work at a law firm in Uptown Charlotte and have been helping with this organization entitled the National Independent Voter Coalition. My interests include: Politics (obviously), Basketball (playing and watching) and watching almost any sport, movies, reading, the law, human rights, entertainment, mostly Angelina Jolie and Beyonce. I am fun, caring, passionate, intelligent, and unique!