Man killed by LA deputies had gun in his hand, officials say

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials will hold a press conference to discuss the investigation into a deputy-involved shooting that left a suspected armed man dead in Lynwood Saturday. The suspect was struck by gunfire and pronounced lifeless on the scene, the place a loaded handgun was recovered, in accordance to the sheriff’s division.

Katz says Robertson walked down a residential street and then along a busy commercial area holding the gun and acting strangely. A video displayed at the news conference showed Robertson on the street appearing to hold a gun as the two deputies arrived.

A video was shown at the news conference of Robertson walking passed a gas station parking lot in a seemingly agitated state with the handgun.

Robertson did not comply with the deputies’ “repeated requests to drop the weapon”, Katz said, noting that there were several members of the public in the immediate area at the time.

Investigators do not have evidence that Robertson shot at deputies but video of the incident shows he had a gun in his hand and was looking in the direction of the deputies, said Katz.

Latrice Barkus, Nicholas Robertson’s aunt, is embraced in front of the sidewalk memorial set up to honor her nephew. Police report that they commanded Nicholas to drop his gun, and said Robertson did not drop his gun.

Once the suspect is on the ground, how close the gun is to him is key in whether shots are justified, he added. Sheriff’s officials said there is no evidence at this time to show that Robertson ever fired his weapon at deputies.

Katz stated that when Robertson fell to the ground, after being killed, his arms were underneath him, and the gun still in hand. “There was never a time when the weapon was not in his possession”, Katz said.

An anonymous eyewitness captured a graphic video of the encounter from across the street and sent it to local news station KTLA.

“Those 911 calls depict different behaviors of the suspect”, Katz said. It was not known where he was allegedly shooting, or if one or more witnesses reported this detail.

“In this modern age of cellphone video and instant analysis on the Internet, I would ask that we keep in mind that a thorough and comprehensive investigation is detailed and time-intensive”, McDonnell said in a statement.

But relatives are questioning why Los Angeles County deputies continued spraying the man with bullets, even as he crawled away.

Police confronted Robertson as they investigated 911 calls from witnesses who saw a man firing a gun into the air.

“They shot him in his shoulder, and he was crawling to this gas station”, Robertson’s mother-in-law, Pamela Brown, told CBS Los Angeles.

Robertson’s death is just one of the latest of many instances of fatal officer-involved shootings. He admitted there will always be criticism when the police or deputies are involved in a shooting, but said the department would be as transparent as possible.

“The gun looked as if it was empty”.

Robertson’s family and friends protested his death Saturday, saying the deputies could have used non-lethal force.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the shooting to call them at. The Times reported that Sheriff Jim McDonnell noted Robertson had “prior contact with the criminal justice system”.