Protesters in Los Angeles descended on the county sheriff’s office after deputies shot and killed a man who had dropped a gun while fleeing police who tried to stop him for riding a bike in an unlawful manner Monday, the Associated Press reports.
According to the sheriff’s office, two deputies spotted the man, identified as 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee, riding a bicycle in a way that violated vehicle codes and they pulled their vehicle beside the bicycles. Kizzee abandoned the bike on the roadside and fled, carrying a bundle of clothes.
The deputies then caught up to the man, who allegedly hit one of the deputies in the face. He dropped the bundle of clothes and a gun fell out of the bundle, and when deputies saw the gun on the ground, they opened fire, killing Kizzee.
More than 100 demonstrators assembled at the South Los Angeles sheriff’s station protesting the shooting and demanding a complete investigation of the shooting.
“If he reached down to grab it, that’s different,” 68-year-old Arlander Givens told the Los Angeles Times. “But if it’s on the ground, why shoot? That means he was unarmed.”