A Black man who allegedly punched a deputy and had a handgun was shot and killed by deputies Monday afternoon in the unincorporated Westmont area near South Los Angeles.
The shooting occurred about 3:15 p.m. near West 109th Place and South Budlong Avenue, according to sheriff’s Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez.
The man had been riding a bicycle when deputies attempted to stop him for code violations, Navarro-Suarez said. He left his bicycle and ran away but deputies caught up to him and a fight ensued.
“Immediately upon making contact with our suspect, our suspect was holding some items of clothing in his hands, punched one of the officers in the face and then dropped the items in his hands,” sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean told reporters.
“The deputies noticed that inside the clothing items he dropped was a black semi-automatic handgun, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred. He was in possession of a firearm and did assault a deputy.”
Two deputies opened fire and shot him several times, Navarro said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
No deputies were injured.
Video from the scene showed a gun near the man’s body.
Black Lives Matter Los Angeles identified the man as Dijon Kizzee and called supporters to the scene to protest against the killing.
“Los Angeles County Sheriffs killed a Black man…Dijon…on 109th and Budlong and left his body facedown in the dirt. We need all hands on deck,” Black Lives Matter Los Angeles tweeted.
Dozens of protesters were at the scene by 8 p.m. Monday night.
A response was not immediately available from the sheriff’s department regarding Black Lives Matter’s allegation that the victim was left “facedown in the dirt,” but Navarro-Suarez said it would be part of the investigation.