USA-CALIFORNIA/SHOOTING-PROTEST Demonstrators protest against fatal shooting of homeless man

Record ID: 324494

  • Title: USA-CALIFORNIA/SHOOTING-PROTEST Demonstrators protest against fatal shooting of homeless man
  • Date: 3rd March 2015
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 3, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS WALKING ALONG LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD KNOWN AS SKID ROW POLICE OFFICERS ON BICYCLES IN FRONT OF LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT AND DEMONSTRATORS DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTING IN FRONT OF LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS COMMUNITY ORGANIZER GENERAL JEFF SPEAKING TO DEMONSTRATORS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKID ROW RESIDENT AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, GENERAL JEFF, SAYING: "We need more mental health training. If it's not going to be for the police officers then we need to bring in health care professionals that are side by side with LAPD so that we can address this issue. The city of Los Angeles is responsible, the county of Los Angeles is responsible, the state of California is responsible and the White House in Washington, D.C. is also responsible. This is not a skid row problem, this is not a city of Los Angeles problem, this isn't a state of California problem, this is a United States of America problem and the entire United States needs to do something about the homeless capital of America which is right here in downtown Los Angeles. We need to house the people, we need to get the services and we need to get real health care professionals, not the ones that are here just to earn a paycheck, the ones that are passionate enough to help the people." VARIOUS OF SIGNS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKID ROW RESIDENT AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, GENERAL JEFF, ON POLICE OFFICER BODY CAMS, SAYING: "The problem with that is, you know, there's a freedom of public information act. We need access to that, we don't have information and access to the footage so we have no idea what they're going to present. They're going to look at it first, edit it, photoshop it, whatever they're going to do and then present it. We want live stream, we want real time information the same as they get it." VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS IN FRONT OF LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKID ROW RESIDENT ALI THOMAS SAYING: "I feel they need to stop killing us. They killing us one by one, they just knocking us down and they ain't going to never stop. Seems like they're going to kill us one by one until they can get us all. Like they say, it happened in skid row and a man had a mental issue and we got a lot of issues down in skid row, they need to worry about the issues that we got in skid row and not all this petty little stuff that they worry about in skid row and that's why I'm here. I'm here for skid row, that's why I'm standing up, because I'm a resident of skid row." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HOMELESS SHELTER WORKER EVERTINA MEDINA SAYING: "You know what, everything that is happening is making me very sad because, what's happening is that, I understand the situation that there are a lot of people who may be mentally ill or need attention but that's not a reason to take their life. Maybe they're not even doing anything and they might not understand why the police are attacking them. It's incredible how many lives have already been lost in skid row." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SKID ROW RESIDENT RAMIRO PUENTES SAYING: "Yes, I want to protest against police brutality. They have killed us and they are killing our people, the Africans and everyone who is a minority and, more importantly, to protest against the oppression of minorities by the police officers from the Police Department of Los Angeles. They should leave us alone, they should let us breathe and they should stop abusing their power." (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKID ROW RESIDENT INA MURPHY SAYING: "There's too many innocent people getting killed for nothing and I just think they should be trained a little better." LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS AND DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING OUTSIDE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS
  • Embargoed: 18th March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA56R98PAIABQL8UAA7R6M9G5JQ
  • Story Text: Demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles on Tuesday (March 3) morning in response to the fatal shooting of a homeless man by three Los Angeles police officers in downtown Los Angeles.
    Police officers trying to subdue a robbery suspect in the city's skid row section shot and killed the man as he grabbed an officer's gun during a scuffle that was captured on video and went viral across social media platforms.
    The demonstrators gathered to rally at the site of Sunday's shooting, at the intersection of San Pedro Street and 6th street, and marched to the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, approximately 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) north of the shooting site. Demonstrators held various signs and chanted "Can't kill Africa," in reference to the victim's street name, and "black lives matter."
    Demonstration organizers hoped to meet with the police commissioner to deliver a list of demands so police officers patrolling skid row can improve relationships with homeless residents there.
    "We need more mental health training. If it's not going to be for the police officers then we need to bring in health care professionals that are side by side with LAPD so that we can address this issue. The city of Los Angeles is responsible, the county of Los Angeles is responsible, the state of California is responsible and the White House in Washington, D.C. is also responsible. This is not a skid row problem, this is not a city of Los Angeles problem, this isn't a state of California problem, this is a United States of America problem and the entire United States needs to do something about the homeless capital of America which is right here in downtown Los Angeles. We need to house the people, we need to get the services and we need to get real health care professionals, not the ones that are here just to earn a paycheck, the ones that are passionate enough to help the people," said General Jeff, a community organizer and skid row resident.
    Among the demonstrators outside Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters were community organizers and numerous homeless residents of skid row. Skid row is a 50-block area that ranks as one of the largest concentrations of homeless people in United States.
    "I feel they need to stop killing us. They killing us one by one, they just knocking us down and they ain't going to never stop. Seems like they're going to kill us one by one until they can get us all. Like they say, it happened in skid row and a man had a mental issue and we got a lot of issues down in skid row, they need to worry about the issues that we got in skid row and not all this petty little stuff that they worry about in skid row and that's why I'm here," said Ali Thomas, a homeless resident of skid row who said he witnessed the fatal shooting on Sunday.
    "I understand the situation that there are a lot of people who may be mentally ill or need attention but that's not a reason to take their life. Maybe they're not even doing anything and they might not understand why the police are attacking them. It's incredible how many lives have already been lost in skid row," said Evertina Medina, who works at a local homeless shelter for women.
    Authorities have yet to publicly identify the man who was fatally shot, known by his street name 'Africa,' but a law enforcement source has confirmed a previous report by the Los Angeles Times which identifies the man as Charley Saturmin Robinet, a French national, who was accused of pistol-whipping a bank teller during the 2000 holdup of a Wells Fargo Bank branch. Robinet previously served time in federal prison for armed bank robbery and federal prison and court records show he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released from a federal facility in May.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register