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A man was gunned down by deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department early Saturday morning. Police have stated they received multi-agency calls regarding a man at gas a station firing a gun into the air. L.A. County deputies responded and encountered Nicholas Robertson, a 28-year-old father of three holding a weapon. The responding deputies stated that Robinson ignored their repeated commands to drop his weapon and pointed his gun at officers. It was then that police opened fire, striking Robinson multiple times.
Fortunately, someone at a nearby business was able to record part of the encounter and the video clearly shows Robinson being shot. The video does not show Robinson pointing his gun at police but rather walking away as he was gunned down. One portion of the video clearly shows a mortally wounded Robinson on the ground crawling away as the police continue to empty their weapons into his body. News of the shooting spread quickly in the community and protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting and chanted “No justice, no peace” at police.
Law enforcement did recover a .45 caliber handgun at the scene and are asking for calm as the shooting investigation continues. Robinson’s family is, of course, heartbroken over the circumstances of his death and have claimed they were unaware he owned a weapon. His sister, Precious Bradford, saw the video and said “Them two police officers that was shooting him while he was down and they still reloaded they guns and was shooting him — they need something to happen to them. Not just suspended — two weeks, three weeks — they need to go to jail.”
Multiple eyewitnesses have stated that Robinson did point his gun at the officers and Sheriff Jim McDonnell released the following statement:
“I want to assure the public that the Sheriff’s Department takes deputy involved shootings very seriously and that this investigation will be handled with the utmost professionalism and integrity. We are working closely with our criminal justice system partners as well as members of the public to put together the most comprehensive and accurate account of exactly what occurred.
“In this modern age of cellphone video and instant analysis on the Internet, I would ask that we keep in mind that a thorough and comprehensive investigation is detailed and time intensive. It will involve not just one source of information, but numerous sources, potentially including multiple videos, physical evidence and eyewitness accounts. I urge anyone who has information about this shooting incident to contact our investigators. Our number one priority is public safety.”
In addition, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is also asking for witnesses to come forward with any other footage that might have captured the encounter.
