LAPD handcuff unarmed man whose brains they just blew out (Warning: Disturbing)

[Bonobo]

Man with towel-wrapped arm shot by LAPD in Los Feliz was unarmed

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-man-with-towel-on-arm-shot-in-head-by-lapd-20150620-story.html

Los Angeles police shot and critically wounded a man after he raised his arm, wrapped in a towel, toward officers Friday in Los Feliz, police said.

Police said officers thought the man had a gun, but he turned out to be unarmed.

The man flagged down officers about 6:35 p.m. at Los Feliz Boulevard and Tica Drive south of Griffith Park, according to a police account.

"This person extended an arm wrapped in a towel. The officer exited the vehicle and said, 'Drop the gun, drop the gun,'" LAPD Lt. John Jenal said.

Then at least one officer shot the man, officials say. He was taken to a hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

[marym625]

1. These guys are untrained in anything but how to use a weapon it seems

They're cowards that they just pull their guns and shoot to kill without any other thing being tried.

So sick of it. Especially the people calling for help for themselves or loved ones only to have them end up dead

[gwheezie]

2. How can you drop the gun if you don't have one?

Clearly this man will not survive.
I told everyone I know to never call for help unless life is at risk. Call a neighbor or friend or put a tourniquet on and drive yourself. If anyone asks how are you say "fine,just a little scratch"

[Rex]

3. Well clearly the man was still a threat after the cop blew his brains out.

Towels can be very dangerous, always a great idea to blow someones brains out if they point one at you. YEP. COPS YAY!

THE BESTEST!

I wonder what it will take for states and the federal government to finally realize that THIS is murder. Cold blooded murder caught on camera.

Never, I predict never will they do something about it...

[Jesus Malverde]

4. Sick

I've seen them handcuff many dying people. They are like robots from a war zone. Thanks for posting this, I read about it but never saw the video. We need to see what militarization of the police looks like.

[polly7]

5. Horrible. :( nt.

[Man from Pickens]

6. Never call the cops

there is a greater and greater chance every year that any given call to the cops will result in the murder of an innocent

Anyone want to guess the odds of the murderer here being put on trial for his crime?

[uppityperson]

7. Here are another link to the story. He had his hurt hand in a towel, asked cops for help

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/witness-records-lapd-handcuffing-man-after-shooting-him-in-head/

UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reports the man shot did not have a gun, even though they shot him because he would not “drop the gun.”
The man apparently approached the officers for help, possibly because he had injured his arm or hand, which is why he had it wrapped in a towel.
He made the mistake of raising his arm to show the officers his injury, but that made them fear for their lives, which is why they opened fire.

[Bonobo]

8. It is dangerous for men out there. Parents need to have "the talk" with all sons, not just POC.

I am fairly sure a woman in this situation would not have faced the same danger and I do not think it makes me an "MRA" to point that out.

[uppityperson]

9. It is difficult to say. As a middle aged white woman, I have been harassed by cops and am very

watchful, being hard of hearing.

I didn't dare walk away because it was during the time when our local cops loved to taze people for no reason. Tasing was better than shooting them like they did several times in a short period of time.

I have changed from 25 yrs ago telling my kid if they got lost to go find a cop to avoid them in any way possible.

This case is awful. "help me please, police", "drop the gun", "I don't have a gun, will raise my hand to show you", "bam" through the head. Then handcuffed. What. The. Hell.

[joshcryer]

13. Police need retraining (and mass firing).

Even if you tell young men that they have to behave a certain way, they may not be able to control themselves in a panic situation, even if you tell them to be careful, and watch out.

Cops need to be able to recognize panic situations, and calm the situation down, instead they escalate, and it gets out of control, until they wind up killing someone. Cops literally force their authority on to people with absolutely no recognition that they are other human beings who are going through their own process.

In this situation we see someone shot in the back of the head. How would you feel if you walked up to someone you thought would help you and they started screaming at you to put your gun down, that you don't have mind you, as adrenalin is pumping from the injury you just sustained?

The instinct, is to turn. To the cop, the instinct is to escalate, take the threat even more seriously (without evaluating the situation), and then shoot. (And yes the SCOTUS has deemed that if someone had a gun and was shot in the back then it's justified.)

We see this is most apparent in the Walter Scott case. Had Walter Scott actually taken the taser? It would've been an open and shut case. It would've been a justified shooting under the SCOTUS.

And police fucking know that, so if they say "he has a gun!" and the dude doesn't have one, it's just a mistake. So they skirt the law and truth of the matter, allowing them to kill anyone, without any major repercussions.

[davidpdx]

22. Agreed

I'm assuming you saw the article about the 4 year old girl getting shot in the leg. The whole thing with police shootings has gotten so out of control it is ridiculous. The cop shot a 4 year old girl while trying to shoot her dog. These cops need to start being put on trial and in prison if they are found guilty of shooting someone without a reason.

I'm sorry to say this, but I am so glad I don't live in the US anymore (and never will).

[uppityperson]

23. +++++++++++++

[Jesus Malverde]

20. Exactly

Police violence transcends race barriers, anyone is a target. Especially males.

[CreekDog]

25. are you saying that police violence towards black and white males is the same?

?

[lumberjack_jeff]

26. Yes.

Any man who says that men don't need to feel afraid is irrational

[polly7]

17. I can't even imagine how the family left behind would deal with this.

Dying due to illness is natural, fatal accidents happen ...... but killed because of asking for help with an injured arm or hand by those you would hope you could trust? How do you begin to grieve when you know there will probably be no-one held accountable - that it was a purely senseless death. I don't know how I could make sense of that.

It's just so sad.

[tabasco]

10. Cowards

and their guns.

[joshcryer]

11. Stupid ass authoritarians.

Dude was probably hurting, in pain, panicking, and thought the good old police would be helpful.

[Bonobo]

12. For that he will die and his children, parents, siblings and friends will suffer. nt

[Cheese Sandwich]

14. I betcha the cops kill more people than anyone

[pansypoo53219]

15. if you are THAT much of a scary cat. GIVE UP THE BADGE. or they just stoopid?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. Watch them claim the cops did nothing wrong. AGAIN.

[cui bono]

18. Geez. That is not a bad neighborhood and also Los Feliz Blvd is used by commuters

and is packed at 6:30pm on a weeknight. That portion of it is close to where people get on one of the major freeways, or even if they don't get on the freeway it is where one can cross when going from Hollywood area through to Glendale area or beyond.

Why the hell would they feel they have to shoot that guy? And what is with this 'policy' of handcuffing people after they've been shot? What did he do wrong that he had to be handcuffed? Nothing.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a department spokesman, said the officers followed standard procedure in handcuffing the man when they did. At that point, Smith said, the man had not been searched and was considered a suspect.

"We always do that," Smith said. "That's the policy ... to handcuff someone in a situation like that."

Smith cautioned that the investigation into Friday's shooting was still in its early stages. One of the key questions, he said, was why the man flagged down the two uniformed officers.

The man was standing on the side of the road, Smith said, when he called out to the officers: "Police, police."

Smith said investigators would explore all possibilities, including whether the man needed some type of help from police. He said investigators would also look into the man's background to see if there were any indications the shooting was an attempted "suicide by cop."
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-man-with-towel-on-arm-shot-in-head-by-lapd-20150620-story.html

Suicide by cop? So now asking police for help is asking them to shoot you?

[Jesus Malverde]

21. Ironically means

The happy

I couldn't believe the part about how they need to look at his background so they can discredit the victim and clear the murderous cop.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. He asked the police for help; they shot him

Last edited Sun Jun 21, 2015, 08:03 AM - Edit history (1)

If you're injured, and any contact with the police puts you in danger of being murdered, what can you do? Even a 9-1-1 call means the police may hear about it and come and kill you. How can you get an ambulance without the police knowing?

On edit: rereading, I see he is critically injured, and not yet dead. While that's a cause for hope, it makes their treatment of him after the shot him. You don't care for a critically wounded man, who you can see is not armed, by rolling him over and handcuffing him. You should be doing your best to treat the undeserved critical wound you gave him.

[Rex]

24. So when did America go from being able to call the cops "for help" to calling cops "to die"?

Seems like law enforcement went off the rails sometimes back. When however, is a mystery. 9/11? What did it?

[HassleCat]

27. They do this now

They are so afraid of everybody, they immediately start yelling "Drop the gun!" when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

[Fla Dem]

28. There should be required stress tests they put these cops through to judge how they react.

I can't believe how trigger happy the cops are. It seems as if as soon as they feel they are in any danger they automatically just reach for their guns and shoot. I understand in a a real life or death situation they have only a fraction of a second to act, but in most of the cases recently, it appears they are just getting angry because the person won't do as they command.

[damnedifIknow]

29. Pure damn madness

I don't even know what to say.

[kickysnana]

30. That is insane behavior for an American policeman. It just is. n/t