Long Beach Police Kill Man Seated in Casino
Monday night around 10:30pm, Long Beach police responded to a call about a man with a knife at Looff’s Lite-A-Line Casino Game of Skill. Police say that while responding they received calls saying there was a man waving a knife around. A few of the customers even left the establishment out of fear for their safety. According to additional reports the man has been removed from the casino in the past.
That was not exactly the scene when the police arrived.
Upon their arrival, the officers found the man seated in a chair still armed with a knife. After refusing orders to drop the knife, officers attempted to use a taser and baton to subdue the man. The release from the police department said both less than lethal options were unsuccessful. When the fire department arrived, they pronounced the man dead. The mans name has not been released but the coroner’s office will notify the family after they ascertain his identity.
No one else was hurt.
The streets in front of the casino were closed due to the ongoing investigation. Opening the next day at 6:30 am.
The release from the LBPD said nothing about what prompted the officers to fire. Only that they did fire and the man was killed. Surveillance cameras in the casino captured parts of the incident and the footage is being reviewed by homicide detectives. The police department will review the shooting with a multi step process that “evaluates legal, policy, tactical and equipment issues” The Los Angeles district attorney will conduct an independent investigation and so will the coroners office, as is the procedure when an officer involved shooting results in death.
Commander Robert Luman, who heads the Long Beach Police Department’s Gang and Violent Crimes Division said
We can confirm that he was in a seated position at the time of the shooting, We’re investigating the posture and the perceived threat of him being in possession of a knife.”
It seems like there have been allot of people getting shot by police for having knives recently.
Mario Woods was shot just two weeks ago, after officers in San Francisco claimed he made a threatening gesture with a knife. They also claim to have been unable to apprehend him with less than lethal options. Five police officers opened fire on Woods and the violent nature of the killing sparked protests at town hall meetings and the police department.
David Winesett was shot while armed with a straight razor, after a jittery Miami cop pulled the trigger to his assault rifle as a reaction to another officer deploying a taser. Winesett had just attempted to rob a bank and deserved police attention but his life was needlessly ended by an officers nervous decision.
Laquan McDonald was also holding a knife when Jason Van Dyke opened fire. He continued to empty his entire magazine regardless of the fact that McDonald was on the ground. He followed up the killing by lying about McDonalds actions and a year later, after the video was released he was charged with six counts of murder and one count of official misconduct. He is free on bail and due in court on Friday.
Now more than ever it’s more important to film police interactions. The system has no incentive to bring their crooked cops to justice and without our own evidence it’s next to impossible to expose an establishment as corrupt as law enforcement. If you would like to get involved with CopBlockers in your area check out CopBlock.org/groups, furthermore you can join the CopBlock Network to start working with others already spreading the message that “Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights”.
