Officials: Deputies shoot, kill Black man who dropped gun

LOS ANGELES » Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Dijon Kizzee after they stopped the Black man on his bicycle for a traffic violation and he ran from them, punched one and then dropped a bundle that included a gun, authorities and relatives said.

The shooting death Monday afternoon comes on the heels of a police shooting in Kenosha, Wis., that left Jacob Blake, who is also Black, paralyzed and spurred days of protests.

Kizzee’s family and friends created a memorial to the 29- year- old at the shooting scene in the South Los Angeles area on Tuesday, leaving flowers, balloons and candles just feet away from first responders’ discarded blue medical gloves and rolled bandages. More than 100 protesters had marched in the area the night before, some chanting “Say his name” and “No justice, no peace,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

The sheriff’s department has not released Kizzee’s name, but relatives confirmed his identity.

In interviews Tuesday, relatives remembered Kizzee as an energetic young man with many friends and expressed anger at the shooting.

Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean told the Los Angeles Times that investigators had not yet interviewed the two deputies involved, but he gave this account: When deputies tried to stop the man for riding his bicycle in violation of vehicle codes, 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.