Police shoot man dead in Westlake

Los Angeles police shot and killed a man who reportedly threatened bystanders with a knife in a bustling Westlake shopping district on Sunday, authorities said.

Officers with the bicycle unit of LAPD’s Rampart Division were responding to an unrelated call about 1 p.m. when a pedestrian flagged them down and alerted them to a man with a knife near 6th Street and Union Avenue, according to Cmdr. Blake Chou. The officers confronted the man and ordered him to drop the knife several times. When he failed to drop the weapon, officers began firing, police said.

Police did not release the dead man’s name or age, nor did they specify how many shots had been fired. The LAPD’s force investigation division was called to the scene, Chou said.

The shooting occurred on a busy stretch of 6th street that is lined with discount shops, thrift stores, and a Food 4 Less grocery store. The street, which sees heavy foot traffic from shoppers, came to a standstill.

Crowds gathered along the crime scene tape that stretched for several blocks as officers remained at the scene. The crowds grew larger and increasingly surly as time passed. All eyes were focused on the body, which was covered with a white sheet and remained in plain sight on a corner in front of a dollar store, beside a newspaper sales box. Blood ran down the sidewalk.

Some nearby residents said officers routinely harassed them there and took the opportunity Sunday to voice their opinions about the police.

“Killers go to hell,” one person said.

“You guys don’t have the right to come to our neighborhood and assassinate people,” another yelled.

A resident living less than a block from the scene said the dead man was middle-aged, well-known in the area and frequently appeared to be drunk. She often saw him passed out not far from where he was shot.

“He’s the guy that always sleeps under that tree right there,” said Tasha Woods, who was standing out on her front steps watching the police investigation of the scene.

“The guy with the mustache?” a neighbor asked.

“Yeah,” Woods responded.

Woods said she heard the commotion from her home and came out to the balcony where she saw the confrontation.

“The police told him, ‘Put the knife down, put the knife down,’ ” Woods said. She said the man responded by becoming agitated and rambling loudly. “You could see him wobbling from side to side,” she said.

Meleika Williams, another resident, said the man may have stabbed people on the streets before he was shot by police. Authorities said they could not confirm whether anyone had been stabbed.

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victoria.kim@latimes.com