(Los Angeles) Los Angeles police released a video of an intervention that led to the death of a man holding a plastic fork, after a confrontation with several officers in a building in the city.
Jason Maccani, 36, was killed on February 3 by a police officer. An investigation was opened to determine whether the use of force was appropriate and police released images of the intervention to the public on Tuesday.
“I remain concerned by the officer’s decision to use lethal force,” police chief Michel Moore admitted last week during a press conference.
The images, taken from a CCTV camera and body-worn cameras worn by police officers, show the suspect cornered by seven officers in a building in the city center. He first raises his hands in the air, before suddenly walking towards them to confront them.
He then held “a white object protruding from the bottom of his right hand,” according to a police press release. Initially “mistaken for a knife,” the object “later turned out to be a plastic fork.”
The video shows the melee between the police and Mr. Maccani, in a narrow corridor.
Police said the suspect was trying to grab a shotgun held by a female officer. One of his colleagues then fired live ammunition, according to the press release, after other agents had used non-lethal weapons.
Taken to hospital, Mr. Maccani died from his injuries.
The police were initially called by a person who reported a suspicious man, “armed with a stick” and “threatening employees” of the building, according to the press release.
An exaggerated description, according to the first elements of the investigation.
“It appears at this stage that the person who called us deliberately misrepresented the information in order to encourage the department to respond more quickly,” Mr. Moore, the police chief, explained last week.