The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, through Lt. Brandon Dean, gave its own version of events during a press conference. "The man in his 30s was riding a bicycle early Monday afternoon when police tried to stop him for violating the traffic code," Dean said.
According to the authorities, the man "ran away" after leaving his bicycle behind. The police managed to catch him. It was at that moment, Dean said, that the young African-American "hit one of the officers in the face".
"The suspect, by the way, threw away a pile of clothes he had in his hand. "The police noticed that a black semi-automatic weapon was inside the pile of clothes", the sergeant continued.
Then the police opened fire. The man was hit by bullets, killed on the spot. "He was in possession of a firearm and attacked a police officer," Dean insisted, adding that an investigation was already under way.
According to local media, about a hundred people gathered on Monday night at this point, while the anti-racist protest movement has revived in the US after the incident with a white police officer who shot seven times in the back an African-American in Kenosa, Wisconsin.
President Donald Trump, who is expected to go there today, has no plans to meet with the family of Jacob Blake, who was paralyzed by this apparent police abuse.