With a video circulating on social media that appears to show a California Highway Patrol officer fatally shooting a man who had been walking on the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway in the Watts area, elected leaders Monday called for “transparency” as the state begins an investigation.
Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker, state Sen. Steven Bradford and Assemblyman Mike Gipson, who all represent the Watts area, issued a joint statement Monday following the Sunday shooting. They said that, while the full details have not come out, a bystander took video of the encounter, in which the man was on the ground and the CHP officer fired multiple times, hitting the man following a scuffle.
McOsker called the video “shocking” and said the shooting must be “fully investigated expeditiously.”
“The community deserves transparency on the circumstances around this incident and I will work with my state-elected counterparts to keep our community apprised of any results of the investigation,” McOsker said in the joint statement.
“My prayers go out to the whole community who have been impacted by this and I join my fellow elected officials and civic leaders in asking for peace at this time.”
The CHP officer initially responded at 3:16 p.m. Sunday to the westbound Glenn Anderson Freeway at Wilmington Avenue to a witness report that a tall man with dark clothing and a backpack was walking across lanes while wearing headphones and talking on his phone, according to a CHP notification that reported the death.
A CHP officer made contact with the man and “a struggle ensued and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” the CHP stated in a news release.
The man died at a hospital, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Information on his identity was not immediately available.
While the CHP confirmed an officer-involved shooting took place, the agency did not immediately provide further details.
Bradford, D-Gardena, in the statement said the shooting “appears to be an unnecessary use of deadly force,” and that the community deserves answers.
He added, “If the roles were reversed, people would be immediately calling for murder charges. I call on the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Justice to be transparent and for the community to be calm and patient during the investigation.”
Gipson, D-Carson, who noted he was a “son” of the Watts community, said in the statement that while all the facts that led to the shooting are not known, “justice should be our focal point.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the Department of Justice’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team is investigating and will independently review the incident, in accordance with state mandates. Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section, Bonta’s office said.