Nicholas Robertson, who was killed while he crawled on a busy street, allegedly refused commands from police to put down gun

The man shot dead by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in a controversial police shooting was armed, acting erratically and presented a threat to police and bystanders, officials said on Sunday.

Nicholas Robertson allegedly refused commands to lay down his gun and “was motioning in the direction” of two deputies when they opened fire, one firing 16 shots, the other 17. Robertson was killed as he crawled, wounded, on a busy street in Lynwood on Saturday morning.

At a press conference, Jim McDonnell, the county sheriff, and other officials showed a video and two photographs of Robertson, 28, in the moments before and during the shooting, images they said presented another side to an encounter which has triggered protests and suspicion.

“The suspect was a threat to the deputies and to the community and they took the action that they did,” said detective Steve Katz, of the homicide unit. He said two women and three children who were just feet away from Robinson feared he would shoot them.

The deputies gave warnings before opening fire, Katz added. “He did not comply with their repeated requests to drop the weapon … He retained the weapon throughout the entire event. It was recovered from his person.”

Graphic cellphone video of the encounter which took place shortly before 11am at an Arco gas station in Lynwood, a small, racially charged city south of Los Angeles, prompted shock and dismay on Saturday. It showed the deputies firing repeatedly after Robertson fell and attempted to crawl.

Relatives of the African American man told media he was a good father to his eight-year-old daughter and seven-year-old twins and that the killing appeared unjustified. They said they they knew nothing about the gun, which was not registered to Robertson.

Members of a small crowd which gathered at the scene shortly afterward shouted at police. Robertson’s name became a Twitter hashtag, as did that of the movement Black Lives Matter.

McDonnell told the press conference the investigation was in its early stages, and promised transparency. The sheriff referred to Robertson as a suspect and said he had had “prior contacts with the criminal justice system”, without elaborating.

 This article is more than 9 years old

Man killed by LA County deputies was armed and presented threat, officials say

This article is more than 9 years old

Nicholas Robertson, who was killed while he crawled on a busy street, allegedly refused commands from police to put down gun

Rory Carroll in Los AngelesSun 13 Dec 2015 22.24 GMTShare233

The man shot dead by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in a controversial police shooting was armed, acting erratically and presented a threat to police and bystanders, officials said on Sunday.

Nicholas Robertson allegedly refused commands to lay down his gun and “was motioning in the direction” of two deputies when they opened fire, one firing 16 shots, the other 17. Robertson was killed as he crawled, wounded, on a busy street in Lynwood on Saturday morning.

At a press conference, Jim McDonnell, the county sheriff, and other officials showed a video and two photographs of Robertson, 28, in the moments before and during the shooting, images they said presented another side to an encounter which has triggered protests and suspicion.

“The suspect was a threat to the deputies and to the community and they took the action that they did,” said detective Steve Katz, of the homicide unit. He said two women and three children who were just feet away from Robinson feared he would shoot them.

The deputies gave warnings before opening fire, Katz added. “He did not comply with their repeated requests to drop the weapon … He retained the weapon throughout the entire event. It was recovered from his person.”

Graphic cellphone video of the encounter which took place shortly before 11am at an Arco gas station in Lynwood, a small, racially charged city south of Los Angeles, prompted shock and dismay on Saturday. It showed the deputies firing repeatedly after Robertson fell and attempted to crawl.

Relatives of the African American man told media he was a good father to his eight-year-old daughter and seven-year-old twins and that the killing appeared unjustified. They said they they knew nothing about the gun, which was not registered to Robertson.

Members of a small crowd which gathered at the scene shortly afterward shouted at police. Robertson’s name became a Twitter hashtag, as did that of the movement Black Lives Matter.

McDonnell told the press conference the investigation was in its early stages, and promised transparency. The sheriff referred to Robertson as a suspect and said he had had “prior contacts with the criminal justice system”, without elaborating.

Detective Katz said the first of multiple 911 calls came at 10.53am, reporting an armed man walking down Long Beach Boulevard. One caller reported hearing six to seven shots. Investigators have recovered physical evidence indicating Robertson did fire his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, apparently in the air, Katz said.

Video from a store camera showed Robertson striding through traffic to cross the boulevard, apparently talking and gesticulating to himself.

“There may have been some domestic discord between him and a spouse that may have been a factor that agitated him,” said Katz.

Robertson briefly entered a car wash and a pizza parlour holding his gun but there was no suggestion of robbery, Katz said.

“He was behaving erratically. He was yelling out some expletives.”

When deputies arrived at 10.59am, Robertson was at the Arco station, “a highly populated area”. He briefly pointed his gun at the deputies and ignored commands to put down his gun, Katz said, adding that video indicated he “was motioning in the direction” of the deputies when they opened fire.

The detective showed a still image, also apparently from a store camera, of Robertson on the ground with an outstretched arm, still holding the gun. There were no live rounds in the weapon but investigators found two live rounds within the suspect’s grasp, Katz said.