LA sheriff releases 911 calls before deputy fatally shot man

While investigators say the man, 28-year-old Nicholas Robertson, was armed, and did not respond to requests to drop his weapon, the video, captured across the street from the scene around 11 a.m. on Saturday, appears to show otherwise.

In this image made from security video footage provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Nicholas Robertson is stretched out on the ground with a gun in his hand after he was shot by police on Saturday.

In a cellphone video posted on-line by KTLA, a information station in Los Angeles, two officers are seen capturing a black man who’s strolling away from them. She said witnesses reported seeing the suspect turn and point the gun at the deputies before they opened fire.

The video showed the deputies repeatedly shooting the man, even after he fell to the ground and appeared to be crawling.

The shooting was the latest to draw attention at a time of heightened scrutiny in the United States over police use of lethal force against unarmed black people.

“We do not have any evidence that indicates a round was sacked at deputies at this time”, the captain said.

Asked if the officers were white, Katz said no but would not elaborate.

According to authorities, Robertson fired about six shots in a residential area before police arrived. “When he collapsed, his arms were underneath him, and the gun was still in his hand”, Katz said.

“They shot him”, said Tracy Brown, 47, of Lynwood, a relative of the suspect’s wife.

He showed reporters a photo that showed Robertson holding the gun after he was on the ground.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released a statement, saying that “detectives are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding” the shooting that took place on Long Beach Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue, Lynwood, on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Katz said Robertson may have been “agitated” by “some domestic discord” with his spouse.

Authorities have released three 911 calls from witnesses who saw Robertson firing gunshots in the air minutes before the man was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.

The Sheriff’s Department said every fatal deputy-involved shooting gets independent investigations from the local district attorney’s office and the county coroner. McDonnell said that the two deputies involved have been reassigned from field duty during the investigation.

At least one other video of the shooting, taken by a witness, has been uploaded to social media.

Katz estimated that the entire confrontation, from the time officers first ordered Robertson to drop the gun until the shooting was over, lasted about 30 seconds. Specifically, sheriff’s officials said the gun was found under Robertson and that he had two additional rounds of ammunition “within his grasp” just inches from his fingers, and that there were no live rounds left inside the weapon, which was not registered to him.