A Black man who deputies said was stopped for riding his bicycle in violation of vehicle codes was fatally shot when he dropped a bundle of items that included a gun, authorities said, setting off a protest march to a nearby sheriff’s station in Los Angeles.
Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean said the specific violations were not known, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Dean said investigators had not yet interviewed the two deputies, but he gave this account: When deputies tried to stop the man Monday, he dropped his bike and ran. When they caught up to him he punched one of them in the face and dropped a bundle of clothes he was carrying. The deputies spotted a handgun in the bundle and opened fire.
“He was in possession of a firearm and did assault a deputy,” Dean said.
Family members at the scene identified the dead man as Dijon Kizzee, 29, CBS-Los Angeles reported, but the sheriff’s department said it could not immediately confirm his identity.
Police say the handgun was recovered and no deputies were injured. TV news helicopters showed a gun near the body.
Protesters gathered and more than 100 people marched to a sheriff’s station. Some chanted “Say his name” and “No justice, no peace,” the Times reported.
Neighborhood resident Arlander Givens, 68, questioned why deputies fired at a man who, according to the sheriff’s official, wasn’t holding a weapon.
“If he reached down to grab it, that’s different,” Givens told the Times. “But if it’s on the ground, why shoot? That means he was unarmed.”
Dean, in a Monday afternoon press conference, said investigators had not yet interviewed witnesses or reviewed any surveillance or cellphone video.
“Give us time to conduct our investigation,” he said. “We will get all of the facts of this case and eventually present them.”
The Sheriff’s Department said multiple independent investigations began at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday to fund a body-worn camera program for the sheriff’s department. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has feuded with the supervisors in recent months and repeatedly called on them to approve the money for the body cameras.
(AP)
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5 Responses
There’s a simple Halacha that would be worth the police adopting – יכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, whenever possible an offender should be stopped by shooting him in a non-fatal body-part. This could have prevented killing in almost every one of these recent cases. Instead of defunding them, retrain them.
If the gun fell out of the dropped bundle of clothes, shouldn’t the cops have shot the bundle of clothes, not the man carrying the bundle? And how could the man have a gun after he dropped it or the bundle? Clearly the man had no intent of shooting the police.
If the gun fell out of the dropped bundle of clothes, shouldn’t the cops have shot the bundle of clothes, not the man carrying the bundle? And how could the man have a gun after he dropped it or the bundle? Clearly the man had no intent of shooting the police.
To Little One: How much training do police get in aiming and shooting their guns? Especially at moving targets, e.g., suspects running away? And, oh, yes, how much training do police get in Halacha?
huju, if you know how police should perform their duties, why don;t you join law enforcement and show them how to do their job.
Little One, there is no such thing as shooting in a non-fatal body part. Police are not circus trick shooters. Deliberately shooting someone in the hand only happens in movies. If you have to shoot someone you shoot to stop them, and that means aiming at their center of mass and hoping you hit it, and putting multiple shots in until the threat is abated.