Cellphone video captures LAPD fatal shooting

Show Caption Hide Caption Deadly L.A. police shooting caught on camera Video captures a deadly confrontation between Los Angeles Police and a suspect who apparently went after an officer's gun.

LOS ANGELES — A homeless man who was killed in a struggle with police had "forcibly grabbed" an officer's holstered pistol moments before being fatally shot, Police Chief Charlie Beck said Monday.

The shooting has drawn nationwide attention after a bystander recorded the tragedy on his cellphone. The video was posted online and drew millions of views within hours of the shooting.

Beck said two officers were wearing body cameras and that all videos of the shooting will be included in the investigation. He said in one of the videos an officer can be heard yelling "He has my gun! He has my gun!"

"M heart goes out ot the family of the man who was killed, and also to the Los Angele police officers who had to be part of this tragedy," Beck said.

Anthony Blackburn, who shot the cellphone video, told KABC-TV he was "videotaping the whole thing 'cause we've been hearing on the news about police brutality. I just wanted to film it and just make sure everything was all right. But I ended up seeing a tragedy."

The video shows several officers attempting to take the man into custody shortly before noon Sunday. The man appeared to scuffle with four officers even after he was wrestled to the ground.

At least five gunshots could be heard. Police said three officers fired their weapons. After the shooting, a bystander can be heard on the video: "You all got him tazed. Why did you you all shoot that man?!"

Police said the officers were responding to a robbery call. In a statement, the LAPD said the suspect was fighting and physically resisting attempts to take him into custody.

"The officers attempted to use a Taser to subdue him but the suspect continued to fight and resist the officers and fell to the ground," the statement said. "While on the ground, the suspect and officers struggled over one of the officer's handguns and then an officer-involved shooting occurred."

Witnesses said the man was known on the street as "Africa," and that he lived in the area for several months.Police said they were withholding his name while they tried to locate next of kin.

The Los Angeles Times quoted several eyewitnesses including Dennis Horne, 29, who said the suspect had been fighting with someone in his tent along the sidewalk, and that when he refused to comply with a police order to come out of the tent, officers used a stun gun and pulled him from the tent. He continued to fight while on the ground, Horne told the newspaper.

"Instead of handcuffing the guy, they straight out shot him," eyewitness Larry Jackson told abc7.com.

"He didn't have no weapon, they just shot him," witness Yolanda Young told myfoxla.com. "They could have just wrestled him down."

Skid Row is a downtown area that is a defacto permanent "home" to thousands of homeless people. They generally are allowed to have tents on certain streets during evening hours but are supposed to remove them during the day.

The LAPD said its specialized Force Investigative Division has begun an investigation, and that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith, who said it was "clear" there was a struggle for the officer's gun, said two officers were injured. He said he did not know whether the man was homeless.

"The video is disturbing," Smith said at a briefing. "It's disturbing any time anyone loses their life. It's a tragedy."

Two officers suffered minor injuries during the incident, police said.