LA deputies fatally shoot Black man
LOS ANGELES — A Black man who deputies said they had stopped for riding his bicycle in violation of vehicle codes was fatally shot when he dropped a bundle of items that included a gun, authorities said. The shooting setting off a protest march to a nearby sheriff ’s station in Los Angeles.
Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean said the specific vehicle-code violations were not known, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Dean said investigators had not yet interviewed the two deputies, but he gave this account: When deputies tried to stop the man on Monday, 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.
The dead man was identified as Dijon Kizzee, 29, by the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner early Tuesday.
Police say the handgun was recovered, and no deputies were injured. TV news helicopters showed a gun near the body.
Dean, in a Monday press conference, said investigators had not yet interviewed witnesses or reviewed any surveillance or cellphone video.
“Give us time to conduct our investigation,” he said. “We will get all of the facts of this case and eventually present them.”
More than 100 people marched from the shooting site to a sheriff’s station. Some chanted “Say his name” and “No justice, no peace,” the Times reported.
Neighborhood resident Arlander Givens, 68, questioned why deputies fired at a man who, according to the sheriff’s official, wasn’t holding a weapon.
“If he reached down to grab it, that’s different,” Givens told the Times. “But if it’s on the ground, why shoot? That means he was unarmed.”
One demonstrator, Taegen Meyer, said she had turned out to protest to “stand with community, stand with families and show our dedication to justice.”
A group of people who had been protesting for three months coordinated on encrypted messaging app Signal, she said, declaring it an emergency action.
One demonstrator was arrested on a charge of unlawful assembly, Deputy Tracy Koerner, a spokesman for the department, said Tuesday.
Information from The New York Times was included in this story.