Sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles fatally shot a Black man who they said was armed with a handgun on Monday afternoon after a stop turned into a violent altercation in a south Los Angeles neighborhood, the authorities said.
The Los Angeles County deputies handcuffed the man after firing at him several times, the aftermath of which was recorded by bystanders, who protested the deadly use of force. As the day turned to evening, a crowd grew at the scene of the shooting in the Westmont neighborhood.
The shooting is now under investigation, the authorities said, and comes a week after the police in Kenosha, Wis., shot a Black man several times in the back. That encounter touched off days of protests, boycotts and violent street clashes and drew the attention of the presidential candidates.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the man, who has not been publicly identified, was riding a bicycle when deputies tried to stop him, CBSN Los Angeles reported.
The reason for the stop, according to the department, was a code violation related to bicycle riding. The man ran from the scene and deputies chased him, the department said. When deputies caught the man near West 109th Place and Budlong Avenue around 3:30 p.m., a fight ensued.
The department said the man punched one of the deputies, the station reported. Then, the department said, the man dropped clothing he was holding, the station reported. According to the department, that clothing was “concealing a black handgun, prompting both deputies to fire their weapons,” the station reported.
The shooting comes as law enforcement officers across the nation are facing intense scrutiny over the use of deadly force and biased policing after George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis. His death, which was captured on video by a bystander, fueled nationwide protests against the police and prompted some to call for departments to be defunded.
Last week, police officers in Kenosha shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back while he was attempting to enter the driver’s-side door of an S.U.V. during a dispute. His children were in the back seat.