Homeless Black man shot dead by California cops over jaywalking, deputies claim he tried grabbing their gun
As 'Black Lives Matter' continues to reverberate through the world, the killings of Black people by cops continue. Recently, a cop shot a homeless Black man dead after he allegedly jaywalked; the whole incident was caught on camera. However, the sheriff ascertained that the man tried reaching for a deputy's weapon. According to The Sun, the sheriff of Southern California's Orange County, Don Barnes, shared a rather blurry photograph on Thursday, which, according to him, showed 42-year-old Kurt Andras Reinhold grabbing at the deputy's gun during a struggle on the ground, that culminated in the fatal shooting of the man. Sheriff Barnes mentioned that the photo was taken from the video of a hotel surveillance camera that captured the incident on Wednesday afternoon in the oceanside city of San Clemente. As the story goes, two deputies tried to stop Reinhold as he crossed the street and then tackled him.
Barnes added that the surveillance video shows Reinhold trying to release the gun from a deputy's holster. However, the sheriff said it’s not clear if he was able to release it. Barnes said that video from a witness recorded a deputy yelling "he's got my gun!" four times. After this, one of the deputies fired two shots and Reinhold died at the scene. Barnes refused to share the video, as he said that he didn't 'want to influence witnesses' who had yet to be interviewed by investigators. However, he seemed unclear on why the two veteran officers on the department's homeless outreach unit tried to stop Reinhold on the street.
Reinhold had been without a home, and was living in San Clemente. In his statement, Barnes added that police had tried to get him help but he had refused to accept. On Thursday (September 24), 50 people protested against Reinhold's killing and attempted to block traffic in San Clemente, about 60 miles south of LA. Four arrests were made after they did not get off the street and a fifth was booked for scratching a sheriff's vehicle, under the charges of vandalism, Barnes said.
Given the climate of the country, ever since George Floyd's death, Barnes admitted that Reinhold's death had come at a strained time for the country. "Given the current climate of police and community relations, I understand that this conversation is going to be a difficult one around this incident," he said at a news conference.
He offered his condolences to Reinhold's family and requested protesters to carry out their vigils peacefully. The two deputies are part of a 25-member unit that attempts to engage with the homeless people and absorb them into service programs for mental health, drug addiction or other issues. They are said to be trained in de-escalation and crisis intervention. The video, shot by a citizen and posted by Southern Orange County Black Lives Matter shows the early stages of the confrontation between the unidentified deputies and Reinhold. He tries to walk past the deputies as they stand in the middle of a street. He is heard shouting "stop touching me," as he pushes away the hand of a deputy who orders him to sit on the curb. "For what?" Reinhold asks. "Because I'm telling you to," the deputy replied. Following which, the deputies tackled Reinhold and then shots rang out.