Man killed by L.A. police faced warrant

LOS ANGELES -- The man killed by police during a struggle on a Skid Row sidewalk was a homeless convicted bank robber who was wanted by federal authorities for violating probation, officials said Tuesday.

Though he was identified by multiple news agencies as a Frenchman, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday night that the dead man had stolen a French man's identity to enter the United States more than 15 years ago, before he was sent to prison for robbing a Wells Fargo branch.

Axel Cruau, the French consul general in Los Angeles, told the Times the man identified earlier in the day as Charley Saturmin Robinet, 39, was not a French citizen but had used a stolen identity to obtain a French passport in the 1990s.

"He fooled a lot of people, including us, years ago," the French diplomat said, adding that the actual person by that name is alive and living in France.

Federal officials had a warrant out for the man, under the name Robinet, for failing to report to a probation officer in November, December and January, Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Cordova said.

He had been released from prison May 12, 2014, after being convicted in 2000 for robbing the branch bank in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and pistol-whipping an employee.

He was identified as a French national when he was convicted of three federal charges. He served about 13 years in prison and then six months in a halfway house before being released, said Ed Ross, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons.

While in federal prison in Rochester, Minn., the man known as Robinet was assigned to the mental health unit and was listed in prison documents as having been diagnosed with mental illness requiring psychiatric treatment, AP reported.

The man was identified Tuesday by multiple media outlets including the Times and Associated Press, citing unidentified law enforcement officials not authorized to speak publicly.

Robinet had been living in a sidewalk tent in the gritty section downtown where hundreds of homeless people, many of them with mental illness or substance-abuse problems, live. He was known on the streets of Skid Row by the name "Africa."

The shooting drew nationwide attention after an eyewitness' cellphone video went viral. It shows several officers attempting to take the man into custody. The man appeared to scuffle with four officers even after he was wrestled to the ground.

At least five gunshots could be heard. Police said three officers fired their weapons.

Two of the officers involved in the struggle were wearing body cameras, police said. That video has not been made public.

On Tuesday, dozens of people protested peacefully at the site of the shooting. More than 100 protesters then marched to police headquarters, where the city's Police Commission was meeting.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said officers responding to a robbery call were patient when they approached the man, and that he repeatedly refused to cooperate and "forcibly grabbed" an officer's holstered pistol.

"Had the individual not grabbed the officers' pistols, certainly, we would not be having this discussion," Beck said.

Beck said two officers were wearing body cameras and that all videos of the shooting will be included in the investigation. He said in one of the videos an officer can be heard yelling "He has my gun! He has my gun!"

A vigil was set for Wednesday at a downtown church.

Every death on Skid Row gets a prayer vigil, Kevin Haah, pastor of New City Church told USA TODAY, because every life matters. His church is just a few blocks from where the shooting occurred at mid-day Sunday.

"What people don't understand is that most of the thousands of people who live here are seeking recovery," said Haah, president of the Downtown Clergy Council. "But a significant number of these people are still struggling."

The prayer vigils are normally held on the street. But due to crowd concerns, Haah said this one will be held at Central City Community Church — a few feet from where Africa died.

Haah said the shooting initially drew a lot of outrage, but that a lot of people now realize the situation was more complicated than it first appeared. Everyone, he said, wants a thorough investigation.

He said police presence on Skid Row is a positive one, particularly in recent years as patrol cars have been phased out in favor officers walking the beat or riding bicycles.

"We need them," Haah said of the officers. "But police officers are human beings. They can have their own prejudices and they can make mistakes."

Contributing: Associated Press