Homeless Man killed by LAPD: March 1, 2015

[Wella]

This was just sent to me by a friend in LA. Apparently this is going viral on youtube.

Caution: strong language.

[madokie]

1. Many of our cops need reined in

We have pretty good cops around here. We're more rural than city where a lot of people know each other. I'm sure that is in all of our favor on both sides.

[bravenak]

2. Why the fuck?

Why shoot? They almost had the guy all the way under control. Why shoot? They were already on top of him.
I hate this.

[yeoman6987]

4. A 14 year old was shot in Oakland today

Don't know if it was a cop or not. Bad news though.

[bravenak]

5. It never ends.

I have seen the LAPD kill a homeless woman by the popeye's chicken on La Brea. They never asked any witnesses. There will be protests.

[Wella]

6. I don't know. It doesn't make any sense to me either.

These folks apparently weren't doing anything at all, and one wonders why the police were there in the first place.

[bravenak]

7. They have to take their tents down during the day? The police can take it down for you.

I always stayed away from skid row if I could help it. Terrible place. Tent city back in the day.

[Wella]

8. Are you from LA?

The only reason I'm asking is that maybe you could identify where this is taking place. There seem to be high buildings and it doesn't look like an ordinary Skid Row, but I don't know this part of the city that well.

[bravenak]

11. Yeah. I was born in LA.

I lived all over. From kern county to orange county.
It looks like San Pedro (the street). Not that nice at all. I can find out exactly where it is if I call my uncle. Let me check.

[bravenak]

12. Yeah. San Pedro and fifth.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skid_Row,_Los_Angeles

[Wella]

13. That's east of the downtown area.

Thanks for the ID. With as many homeless as are there, these officers should know better.

[bravenak]

17. Yep. They sure should know better. Many of the homeless are mentally ill.

Tossed on the streets. Like garbage.

[JI7]

24. i walked those streets a few times including at night and that's what i saw

i actually wasn't scared of any of them partly because i knew they were mentally ill and any uncomfortable or odd behavior was mostly because of that. there were also so many people .

i'm more scared going for walks at night in the beach neighborhood i work in .

[bravenak]

26. I used to find it really sad when I'd end up out there.

We used to buy cheap clothes in the garment district. We were broke, so we got good knock offs. Then we saw that and felt rich. My broke us nothing compared to that.

[tishaLA]

46. 5th and San Pedro/5th and San Julien is probably the most disspiriting

place I've ever been to. Loads and loads of people, especially in warmer weather, waiting in line for food, hanging outside shelters, some high or drunk, some obviously mentally ill, etc.

I've known people who lived on Skid Row for a while and they tell horror stories that would be unbelievable to anyone who hadn't seen how gawdawful the place is

[bravenak]

47. I heard some of the worst stuff, things that you just feel sick to repeat.

I even knew a few people that lived at job corps downtown and used to visit. It was gross over there too. I was always so happy to get my ass back to the west side. I think I walked through every neighborhood at some time in my teens or early 20's. I think I'd be scared to now. I musta been crazy.

[AZ Mike]

52. I work on 7th and Alameda.

I take lunchtime walks and venture right through Skid Row often. Nobody messes with me. Rarely do people ask for change, but not much else. It's a terrible place, but not because the people are terrible. It's terrible because it's a sad state of our society. I can only imagine these cops going bully on these homeless people.

[bravenak]

53. They always bully the homeless and prostitutes.

People who cannot fight back. I hav no idea why we let them get away with it.

[Oklahoma_Liberal]

3. Why kill this man?

They should have backed off once it became clear he was trying to grab that guys gun out of the holster. NO ONE should die for sleeping on a sidewalk. This guy clearly had mental problems.

[avebury]

9. We do not know for a fact that they guy

reached for a gun. Cops have been known to yell stuff like "Let go of the gun." in order to set up the activity of what they are going to do someone. If I did not personally see the guy go for a gun, or if there is no video showing the guy go for a gun, I am not going to automatically believe the cop.

Considering everything that has gone on the last few years I just do not trust a cop to tell the truth. There have been too many out of control police officers and police forces. There have been to many incidents were cops can do what ever they want with NO consequences. Too many cops lie, file false statements, murder and/or maim people and nothing is ever done about it.

Did you read about the guy in Louisiana who served a cop with papers for a police brutality charge? They tried to charge the man with simple assault, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice. And both the police and prosecutors filed false statements. If they guy hadn't had his wife and nephew videoing him serving the cop he could have ended up in prison for a really long time. He now as a civil suit filed. On prosecutor lost her job but both prosecutors should lose their law licenses and all should face criminal charges.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/01/video-exonerates-man-set-up-by-louisiana-cops-and-prosecutors-video/

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/video-mans-police-interaction-exposes-vast-conspiracy-film-police/

[uppityperson]

10. Asses. Here's a link to latimes story.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-fatally-shoot-homeless-man-20150301-story.html

[Wella]

14. Thanks for this link. It seems to have been over a tent

Police have not identified the dead man or said how many officers were involved, or how many shots were fired. The man was declared dead at a hospital shortly after the shooting, which occurred about noon, according to police spokesman Sgt. Barry Montgomery.

The officers had responded to a robbery call in the 500 block of San Pedro Street, Montgomery said. He added that at one point during the struggle a Taser had been deployed, but investigators did not know if it struck the man who was subsequently shot.

No officers were injured during the altercation, Montgomery said.

Witnesses at the scene identified the victim by his street name, “Africa”, and gave conflicting accounts of what they saw.

Dennis Horne, 29, said Africa had been fighting with someone else in his tent when police arrived.

When Africa refused to comply with a police order to come out of the tent, officers used the Taser on him and dragged him out, Horne said. The officers tackled Africa to the ground, where he continued to fight, which led to the fatal shooting, according to Horne...

...An area resident, who identified himself as Booker T. Washington, said police had come by repeatedly to ask Africa to take down his tent. People are allowed to sleep on the streets from 9 p.m to 6 a.m., but they are supposed to remove their tents in the daytime, under a court agreement.

“This man got shot over a tent,” Washington said.

Ina Murphy, who lives in an apartment nearby, said Africa had arrived in the area about four or five months ago. He told her he had recently been released after spending 10 years in a mental facility, Murphy said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-fatally-shoot-homeless-man-20150301-story.html

[uppityperson]

15. Drag him out of a tent while having many yelling at him, add in mental health issues which NO cop

would EVER expect a person like this to maybe have and another example of police instigating and escalating a situation.

[Wella]

16. That sounds like it fits what happened.

The police should not be the people who come to deal with the mentally ill. They aren't trained for de-escalation.

[daleanime]

29. Not trained for de-escalation?

Why the hell not?

[Brigid]

55. That's what I'm always asking.

I'm always saying that if I went to the police academy, I would expect to spend a good amount of time learning to deal with the disabled and mentally ill, and learning to deescalate situations before they turn violent. But that does not seem to be the case. One of these days I'm going to have to find out what goes on at IMPD's academy.

[daredtowork]

19. Outstanding Follow-up *sarcasm*

This man spent 10 years in a mental faciity, and he was badically dumped out and told to "get a job"?

I hope peopke are taking notes about the lack of welfare "safety net" in play here. If you are a single adult, there is no "dole" to fall back on. There is SSI if you're disabled, and I'm thinking this man had it because the mental institution would have applied on his behalf to recoup their expenses. But where was this money when he was released? Was the mental institutio still taking it to back-cover charges? Or did the moey lapse because he was unable to cope with the bureaucracy involved?

Africa should have had an SSI payee, assistance with housing (perhaps he rejected a transitioal housing arrangement), and more life support services in general. The biggest issue in these situations is usually autonomy/dignity. The State will only offer services at the expense of autonomy. Do we really need to dehumanize the mentally ill to "help" them, or is this just the taxpayer's perverse pleasure in wielding the power to punish?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. "Witnesses gave conflicting accounts"....

Yeah, one said he was shot by "a fucking bastard" and another said it was by "a motherfucker".

How can we EVER know what REALLY happened?

[bravenak]

36. +1. No shit.

Thats all the conflict I see.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

38. I was listening to BBC radio last night and they were all over this story....

They had an L.A.P.D. spokesman making the usual noise but it didn't work and he kept repeating that the guy was homeless as if that's a strike against him. That didn't impress them in London AT ALL. The "he went for the officers gun" argument didn't work either since the police in England don't routinely carry guns. The lack of training on the part of police was brought up.

I can picture police from England coming over here to train our cops. We have a bunch of jocks who enjoy hassling the poor. Hell, that's why some of them joined the force to begin with.

[bravenak]

40. Did you see how the cops acted like there was nothing wrong with what he did?

They are so used to being the law. I'm getting tired of the he went for my gun excuse. There were 6 cop ON TOP of the struggling man. Apparently the cop still had his gun, since he shot Africa with it without hesitation. I think Africa had his arms flailing and could not even see the cops gun while he had five other cops on top of him. Liars. They scream lies out to protect themselves.

I hope there is a huge protest. If I still lived at home I'm be right there, probably at Lemeirt park lighting candles like I used to. This shit hurts. Even worse a black cop, just like all the others. Cops are institutionalized.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

50. After one of these shootings the first thing the cops fear is a total uprising....

They'll GET one if they continue to let cops get away with murder.

The people will figure it's the only way they can get justice.

[one_voice]

18. So sad.

[geomon666]

20. Murder

[SoLeftIAmRight]

28. All that needs to be said

Murder

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. The conditions are there for another riot. One bottle could have set it off.

People seem to be getting real tired of this shit.

[cwydro]

22. Why are cops always so overweight?

Maybe they shoot because they know they can't do anything else.

I thought there used to be some kind of guidelines for being in shape.

Now it looks like a bunch of morons on steroids.

[whereisjustice]

23. Remember when Democrats would fight for justice? Now we wait for Hillary to make a

non-statement.

This is what happens when instead of checks and balances, you build a national network of apologists for our police state, aka the Democratic National Committee.

We are without representation.

Don't worry, FBI, NSA and CIA would never abuse their power in a similar fashion.

[cheapdate]

25. At :21 seconds an officer says, "Drop the gun! Drop the gun! Drop the gun!"

Then the shooting. Did the man have a gun?

(on edit: question answered previously in thread. Concur with Oklahoma_Liberal, no one should die for sleeping on a sidewalk.)

[whereisjustice]

27. why is it US Cops cannot handle poor or homeless people without shooting or beating them?

Cops are trained to yell - "drop the gun" or "stop resisting" in case there is a recording in order to justify their lethal actions. They do this regardless of whether there is a threat or not. This is used in grand jury investigation to prevent prosecution of a violent cop.

[geomon666]

30. He had just been tased too.

They got him on the ground, started pounding him in the face, tased him and then shot him. All in less than a minute.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

39. What gets me is the "resisting arrest" and "failing to follow lawful orders" excuse....

As if a judge would rule that to be a death sentence.

As if the police in other countries don't have to deal with that.

Do you honestly believe a rowdy, drunken Scotsman is going to quietly say, "It's a fair cop" and go to jail quietly?

[Wella]

41. In other words, you get killed if you're not passive enough

.

[Brigid]

51. Or even if you are passive enough.

[BlueJazz]

31. What sad, sad day again in America.

I got so upset watching the video, my fucking hands are still shaking.

[bbgrunt]

33. sickening.

[mountain grammy]

34. That people are sleeping in tents on the street

that the police are enforcing a move by 6 am law

that human beings are living and dying like this in America.

That's the problem here. We have all the symptoms of a dying culture.

[Wella]

35. I agree.

Just incredibly demoralizing. We're entering a dystopia.

[JEB]

37. Fascism.

[Jefferson23]

42. Disgusting, why we tolerate this makes me ill. n/t

[Wella]

43. That's really the question, isn't it.

Is it just fear?

[Jefferson23]

44. I wish I knew. When we've had enough we'll demand the changes necessary is my best

guess. I don't know what that threshold is any longer.

[Wella]

49. Me neither.

I feel at such a loss.

[Glimmer of Hope]

45. Where is the compassion for a man so down he is living on the street? Did they ask him nicely or

offer to help? Would that have been so difficult? Pure evil in that video.

[damnedifIknow]

48. Who is really the mentally ill here?

[Alkene]

54. Having just witnessed an extralegal public execution,

I feel nauseated.

And a little afraid.