Photos by the author
On Sunday, a homeless man known locally as "Africa" and "Cameroon" was shot and killed after a struggle with five LAPD officers that was caught on video. On Tuesday, protesters massed at the site of the shooting, the corner of Sixth and San Pedro, where a memorial made of silk flowers, notes, books, and other items had sprung up. The initial gathering was punctuated by a moment of silence, which preceded a march to LAPD headquarters just under a mile away.
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During the march, protesters chanted the familiar, "Hands up, don't shoot!" and "Hey-hey, ho-ho, the killer cops have got to go!" along with brand new slogans like, "You can't kill Africa!" and "Five to one. You need a gun? Really?"It's worth noting that the LA Times, citing two law enforcement sources, reported Tuesday that the victim was a 39-year-old French national named Charley Saturmin Robinet, who was convicted of bank robbery in 2000. If nothing else, the report complicates the narrative of a mentally ill indigent man being preyed upon by overzealous law enforcement.Still, when protesters arrived at the LAPD HQ, speakers demanded the resignation of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, and called upon District Attorney Jackie Lacey to charge the officers involved in the incident with murder.Scroll down for photos from the protest.Follow Mike Pearl on Twitter.
Africa's memorial
The press interviewing residents
An LAPD officer directs traffic around the crowd
Protesters walk up a ramp toward LAPD headquarters
Similar chalk scrawls citing this county-wide statistic used to say "LAPD," but the factoid has been updated to say "LA Cops"
A police official tells protesters to form a line if they'd like to enter the building